Pokemon: The Hoenn Story
by N-Badger97
Summary: Follow May as she travels throughout the Hoenn Region on a journey based on the games Pokémon: Ruby Sapphire and Emerald except with a slightly different plot and new characters. Some Hoennshipping. This story is rated M for use of strong language, and some strong violence.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: This is the first fanfiction I have ever written. I'll try to update the story every weekend, at the latest so you readers won't be kept waiting. Please feel free to leave comments, good or bad in the comments section. I hope you enjoy.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon or any of its characters**

Prologue

A 22 year old man sat on a bench in the Sootopolis City Pokemon Center. His features very sharp, hair in a uniform buzz cut. He wore a brown overcoat over his plain black t-shirt, as well as a pair of navy blue jeans. His brown eyes, as well as the eyes of the other occupants of the center, glued to the screen of a small television set on the far left corner of the building.

"This is PNN news, with a breaking news story" blared the T.V.

"5 minutes ago Mount Chimney has erupted endangering nearby towns as well as sending a massive amount of ash into the air, reaching as far as Sootopolis City." Stifled gasps flooded the Pokemon Center. "We go live now to news correspondent Gabby, go ahead Gabby." "Thank you Jim, as you can see the scene behind me is one of utter chaos. Dozens of residents have been evacuated here to Mauville City from towns near Mount Chimney, such as Fallabor Town and Lavaridge Town. We can't get a good shot of Mount Chimney since authorities will not let us go past the Mauville City limits, but if you look closely (zoom in Ty) you can see the lava spewing from the summit… We have just been advised to get indoors because the ash falling down can cause damage to our lungs, back to you in the studio."

Murmurs and whispers of panic swept through the Pokemon Center. "My god "thought the man with the buzz cut.

" NO, we need to get home NOW, why won't you let us go!?"

The center grew silent as all heads turned towards a man arguing with Nurse Joy, his wife clinging to their frightened children.

"I'm sorry but I can't let you go "Nurse Joy replied with fear creeping into her voice. " The amount of ash falling is too dangerous, you could put you and your family in danger "pleaded Nurse Joy.

" Don't give me that bullsh-" "you should listen to her "the man with the buzz cut interrupted before the enraged father could finish.

" Wha… stay outta this, this ain't none of your business!" yelled the father.

" Look you're scaring your family " the man said nodding to the children clinging to their mother. " They need you to be strong and calm, be the example for them."

The father looked at his family, and then to the stern looking onlookers watching the argument. The father nodded and found a place to sit with his family and comfort them.

The T.V began to show another news report.

" We have just received news reports from cities and towns throughout Hoenn of massive tremors devastating buildings and homes… another report has come in of massive waves crashing into coastal communities such as Mossdeep City an Dewford Town…our radar has also picked up winds moving at upwards of 90 miles an hour moving towards Sootopolis City "more gasps.

Suddenly the center begins to shake violently tossing people to the floor. The lights flickered on and off, as the screams of the many occupants blend into one becoming a terrifying symphony of chaos.

Slowly the shaking became less violent eventually coming to a halt and the lights stopped flickering. The screams continued disorienting the man with the buzz cut. As he tried to regain his bearings the pokemon center's door flew open letting in a howling wind and a few particles of ash into the center.

A figure quickly appears through the open door, struggling to close it behind him. His hair was a wild mess battered by the fierce wind. He wore a brilliant cobalt overcoat along with a matching pair of expensive looking pants, on his feet a white pair of loafers. This man was named Juan, the Sootopolis City gym leader.

Juan finally managed to close the door, and turned around revealing a respirator on his face. "Champion Jonathan "Juan said as Jonathan finally got a hold of his bearings.

"Juan is that you? "Jonathan asked,

"Well who else it would be "Juan replied. " Look Jonathan I'm in need of your assistance "said Juan as he threw a respirator to Jonathan "meet me outside."

The duo exited the pokemon center and out into the streets of Sootopolis City. Jonathan and Juan were immediately greeted with ash blowing into both their faces by the harsh wind.

"Thank god for the respirators" Jonathan muttered as both he and Juan put their hands up to their eyes to block the ash.

"Why did you drag me out here for" Jonathan yelled so the wind would not drown him out.

"We need to see if anyone else is out here, and get them indoors" Juan yelled back. "Shouldn't we be inside?" Jonathan asked. "We are obligated as leaders in the community to help out in times of cris-"Juan was suddenly interrupted by a load glass shattering roar, making the duo cringe in pain.

"What the hell was that?!" Jonathan asked before Juan could answer another equally loud roar thundered throughout the city.

"I think it came from the lake!" Juan yelled

"See that ridge" Juan pointed at a small patch of land protruding from one of the rock walls. "Let's head over there to get a good view of the lake."

The two struggled in the blinding ash to reach the ridge. Once they arrived the two looked down unto the lake, only to be greeted with an incredulous scene.

Even in the haze of ash, Juan and Jonathan could make out two gargantuan looking pokemon in the lake.

One was red with black indents lining its body, reminiscent of a dinosaur. The other half submerged was all blue with red indents lining its body. Its massive fins protruded from its sides.

"Its Groudon and Kyogre" Juan muttered in disbelief.

Suddenly the lake illuminated with light as Groudon let loose with a Hyper Beam. Kyogre surprisingly swift dodged the attack allowing the Hyper Beam to hit a pair of houses blasting them apart and igniting a few others. The flames raged as they were fueled by the howling winds.

"They're people in those buildings!" a wide eyed Jonathan screamed.

"Let's go" Juan proclaimed as they both raced towards the burning homes, behind them other homes are destroyed by the titanic combatants.

The flames made their shadows appear to dance as they approached the inferno.

Juan pulled out two spherical balls from his belt. "Let's go Milotic and Kingdra!" The balls opened releasing two swirls of energy that composed into two aquatic pokemon.

The first an elegant serpentine pokemon, mostly tan aside from its tail which had a beautiful red and blue pattern, complete with red and blue plumes at the end. On its head, long red fins resembling hair touched the floor. "Milotic" it cried looking towards its trainer.

The other pokemon resembled a rugged looking seahorse mostly blue with the exception of its tan plated belly. "Kingdra" it roared looking towards its trainer.

"Milotic Kingdra, use Hydro Pump on the house!" Juan yelled.

The two pokemon nodded and released two powerful jets of water upon the house.

"HELP" cried a feminine voice from inside the inferno.

"Someone's in there!" cried Jonathan

"I'm going in, Gardevoir I choose you!" Jonathan threw a pokeball into the air only to reveal a beautiful humanoid pokemon. It was very thin with a gown like growth covering its legs as well as a green growth on the top of its head that resembled hair. It kept its slim green arms to its side, dignified and poised. "Gardevoir" it said as it turned toward Jonathan.

"Gardevoir I need you to follow me" he told it. Gardevoir nodded in agreement as the two entered the burning house. "Be careful!" Juan yelled.

Inside the flames raged, charred remains of furniture sprawled across the floor.

"Let's head upstairs" Jonathan said as he made his way up the staircase, when he heard a splintering above him.

A huge piece of wood came crashing down toward him. Jonathan put his hands up to block his face, bracing for impact but nothing happened.

He looked up to see a mystical aura surrounding the wood as it was thrown down the side of the staircase. Gardevoir had used Psychic to save her trainer.

"Thanks Gardevoir" thanked Jonathan as he composed himself.

They continued up the stairs until they reached the top. Flames and smoke engulfed the top floor hallway; Jonathan could hardly breathe let alone see in the thick smokescreen.

"Anybody up here!?" Jonathan yelled.

"In here, I'm in here!" came a little girl's reply from down the hall.

Jonathan tried to go through, but the smoke overwhelmed him. He dropped to his knees coughing as the smoke got into his lungs.

Suddenly he stopped coughing; he opened his eyes to see Gardevoir standing above him, with a mystical barrier surrounding the both of them. She had used Safeguard to protect them both from the smoke and flames.

"Good thinking Gardevoir, let's go."

The two made their way down the hall until they reached the door. Jonathan kicked the door in and entered the little girl's room.

The room was in flames, and in the center the little girl sat her arms wrapped around her legs sobbing.

"Come with me quick!" Jonathan pleaded. "I'm scared!" the little girl cried.

"Don't worry me and Gardevoir will protect you, I promise" Jonathan promised

"Gardevoir" Gardevoir said in agreement.

The little girl gathering all the strength she could muster ran towards Jonathan and Gardevoir. She clung to Gardevoir as Gardevoir patted her on the head encompassing her in the Safeguard.

"Alright let's get the hell out of here!"

Outside Juan and his pokemon continued to fight the flames. "Come on you you can do it!" Juan cheered.

Suddenly a roar erupted from the sky. Juan gasped turning his gaze towards the sky. A long serpentine dragon side winded through the air until it was above the lake.

"Rayquaza" Juan muttered to himself.

Groudon and Kyogre continued to fight as Rayquaza's mouth lit up and released a Hyper Beam between the two. The titans stopped fighting as Rayquaza roared at them.

A cyclone of ash began to swirl obscuring the weather trio. The cyclone slowly dispersed revealing an empty lake, the trio gone…with the wind. The tremors ceased as well as the violent waves and the strong winds. All was calm, save for the city still reeling from the battle.

Ash lightly fell on Juan's head as he turned back toward the burning house and his pokemon fighting to extinguish it.

"Keep going, I know you can do it!"

Back inside the trio began to go down the staircase, Jonathan moving quickly while Gardevoir helped the little girl down the stairs creating a gap between the two parties. Flames and smoke still flooded the main room, as they headed for the door.

"C'mon" Jonathan hastily said as the two struggled to keep up with him.

A splintering noise caught the attention of both Jonathan and Gardevoir. Getting ready to protect her trainer she released Safeguard to use Psychic, but the noise did not come from the space above Jonathan.

"LOOK OUT GARDEVOIR!"

Juan looked around his gym. Part of the roof was missing as well as the whole left corner and wall of the gym. A morning breeze flowed into the gym from the gaping hole. The breeze was crisp and fresh. He walked past the charred interior of his gym and out into Sootopolis.

All around him were reminders of the previous night; rubble, charred frames, splintered wood. Few houses remained intact.

Around him people huddled around fires or inside tents. Sootopolis authorities handed out rations to the survivors of the disaster. Juan made his towards the lake.

The lake was unoccupied except by a lone figure sitting at the edge. The man stared at the motionless water. Juan walked towards him. "Jonathan…I'm, I'm so sorr-""Don't" Jonathan interrupted coldly "just don't."

Juan stood behind the broken champion for what seemed like an eternity and then slowly walked away.

As Juan walked away the champion put his face into his hands and wept softly.


	2. Welcome to Littleroot Town

Chapter 1: Welcome to Littleroot Town

27 years later…

BAM, pain shot through young May Maple's head as she was woken from her slumber.

"Ow" she grunted rubbing the back of her head. Her ears were greeted by the soft rumble of the Mover truck's engine. "Jeez I'm still in this truck; I thought we would've reached Littleroot by now."

BAM the truck hit another bump on the road causing May to hit her head again. "Ahhh damn, that one hurt" she muttered rubbing her now throbbing head.

"Why did I choose to ride in the truck?" she thought, wrapping her arms around her legs.

She surveyed the boxes and crates that surrounded her, then at her attire. She wore red and white shoes, black biker shorts, white and black gloves, and a red shirt with a thin white stripe going down the middle.

She grabbed her green bandanna and placed it on her lap to fix her long, beautiful, silky brown hair. When she was finished, she wrapped the bandanna back onto her head.

She began to ponder on how she ended up going to Littleroot Town in the first place.

1 Week Ago

"I got the job" proclaimed a tall dark haired man. He wore a dark red shirt, navy blue pants, and black shoes. His name is Norman Maple, May's father.

"That's wonderful news honey" exclaimed a delighted Caroline Maple, a beautiful brown haired woman with an orange skirt. She is May's mother, and Norman's wife.

"So where is your gym located hon?" Caroline asked curiously.

"Uhhh…yeah about that…" Norman trailed off. "What is it?" Caroline asked sternly.

"We are gonna have to move" replied Norman. "To another city?" asked Caroline.

"No, to another region."

May had just come out of school, Goldenrod High. "I can't believe I'm turning 15" May thought to herself as she walked down the street, the skyscrapers towering above her. "I'm getting old" she thought "and I still, not once, have left this city." "But to travel I need to finish school, or become a train-"before she could finish her thought a cute four legged pokemon with an oversized leaf on its head ran up to her.

"Chikorita" it cried playfully.

"AHHHHH" May screamed as she fell to the ground. May's whole body froze as she stared in horror at the cute grass type.

"Chikorita?" yelped the puzzled pokemon.

"There you are Chikorita" May looked up to see a 10 year old boy approached her and Chikorita.

"Hi my names Phil and this is my Chikorita I just got her from Professor Elm, isn't she cute!" the young boy exclaimed.

"G-Get that t-thing away from me!" May cried terrified, as she got up and ran away. "Jeez what's her problem?" the boy muttered under his breath.

May finally reached her home, an apartment complex in South Goldenrod.

May entered the building and into the elevator. The inside of the elevator was marked with graffiti from local gangs, she pressed the button that read 3 and the elevator sputtered to life.

As the elevator ascended May could still feel her heart beating from her earlier encounter. The elevator came to a halt and May got out.

She walked over to the door that read 301, and out her keys. She opened the door and bent down to put her backpack on the floor.

"SURPRISE!" yelled both Norman and Caroline. May shrieked in surprise as she felt her heart leap from her busty chest.

"Happy Birthday!" Her parents said in unison.

"You scared me half to death" May managed to say as she gasped for air. "Oh..sorry honey" Caroline apologized.

"Yeah sorry" Norman apologized, "hey, we made you a cake!""Really!" May squealed in delight as her sapphire eyes sparkled. The family went into the kitchen to have some cake.

"So how was your day dad?" May asked as the family all ate cake. "I got a job as a gym leader" Norman replied matter of factly.

"Wow that's great dad" May said enthusiastically.

"…Oh and May, we're moving….far away"

Back to Present Day

"I guess it's not all bad" May thought to herself. "It's a whole new town to explore; I wonder what new things this town has to offer…" May was so lost in thought she didn't hear the truck coming to a stop.

The back door flew open bringing May back to reality. "Hi honey, welcome to Littleroot Town."

"Hi mom" May said as she jumped out of the truck. The sudden light blinded her sapphire eyes forcing her to block them with her gloved hand.

Two strong humanoid looking pokemon marched towards the truck "Machoke, Machoke" the pair proclaimed. "Gah!" gasped as she hid behind her mother.

"Don't worry May it's just the mover pokemon" Caroline said. "That may be true" May replied "but they can turn on you like that!" May said snapping her fingers to emphasize her point.

"Oh honey not all pokemon are like that" Caroline said calmly, "yeah sure" replied May sarcastically.

May looked over at the town. No skyscrapers, no cars, and nobody pushing through each other on the sidewalk, to May it was a ghost town. "So what do you think, Nice right?"

"It's small" May replied frowning.

"Oh I know it's no Goldenrod, but this is our new home. I'm sure you'll learn to love it if you give it a try" Caroline said. "Okay I'll TRY to love it" May muttered.

Caroline turned towards May. "Looks like the movers are done; c'mon I'll show you the house."


	3. Meeting the Birches

Chapter 2: Meeting the Birches

"Wow this is actually pretty big" May exclaimed with delight.

"Yeah" Caroline replied "and you get your own room too, no more sleeping on the couch anymore." "Neat, where is it?" May asked.

"It's upstairs to the right honey."

"Thanks mom" May said as she raced up the stairs.

May approached the door leading to her room and flung it open.

May gawked in awe at the spacious room. She had a desk where she could place her computer, her own closet "no more sharing with mom and dad" she thought, and lastly her own bed.

She squealed in delight and jumped on it. How comfy it was! The warmth and fluffiness enveloped her, as her eyes slowly began to close…"MAY, MAY COME QUICK!" her mother called before she could close her eyes.

"Coming" May yelled as she got off her bed and ran downstairs. "Awww… you just missed it, your dad was on the news at his new gym."

"Oh" May replied. "So what do you think of your new room?" Caroline asked.

"It's amazing!" May exclaimed "It's so big, so pretty, and it's mine!" "I'm glad you like it dear, May why don't you go explore the town you know get accustomed to it, but before that go greet the neighbors they're old family friends."

"Really?" May asked intrigued. "Yeah you use to play with their son when you were about 4 or 5. You two are about the same age; maybe you both can catch up and get to know each other again."

"Okay mom, later" May said as she left the house.

As May stepped outside the sunlight hit her soft clear skin, just as a crisp breeze blew making her silky brown hair flutter with it. May closed her eyes and savored the moment.

"This place isn't so bad" she said smiling. "Okay, time to meet the neighbors."

The chirping of far off pokemon and the rustling of leaves accompanied her as she walked down the dirt road.

She finally reached a house similar in appearance to her's and read the name on the mailbox. "Birch" she said to herself, "this must be it."

May walked up to the door and knocked two times. "Oh my a guest!" May faintly heard someone say from inside. The door opened revealing a smiling dark haired lady.

"Hello there, how may I help you?" proclaimed the dark haired lady joyfully. "Oh…um hi my names may, I'm your new neighbor."

"OH MY!" the dark haired lady exclaimed as she jumped back in astonishment. "I knew I recognized you!" the jolly lady squealed.

"May Maple, come in come in!" she cried as she ushered May into the house. "My, my I haven't seen you since you were just a child."

"Oh, well it's nice to meet you again Mrs. Birch" May said.

"Oh call me Linda" the dark haired lady replied.

"Are you hungry? You must be after such a long trip I'll fix something up for you if you like" Linda offered. "No thank you Mrs. Birch errr.. I mean Linda." May replied.

"If you say so, oh I know! You should go see my son he's upstairs, oh how you two used to play…" Linda said as she stared into nothing, her mind reminiscing of older, simpler days.

"Alright" May said as she started up the stairs.

When she reached the top, she saw a door slightly ajar at the end of the hall. She slowly approached the door, hearing a faint voice come from it. "Alright pack full, pokemon fully healed, map…where is that map?..Oh there it is, okay ready to go."

May heard rustling as the door flung open revealing a handsome 15 year old boy.

He wore black pants, a dark orange shirt that had thick black stripes that started at the sleeves and joined at the torso.

He wore the most peculiar hat. It was a green headband with a sort of white fluff on the top. It made him look like he had white hair. If not for his black sideburns, you would think the boy had been traumatized in his early years.

May flustered slightly "oh he's cute" she thought too herself. "Um…hi" she said awkwardly.

"Oh, uh…hi" the boy said just as awkwardly.

"My name's May, I just moved here from Johto."

The boy did not reply he was taken aback by her beauty. He surveyed her curvy figure, starting with her slender legs, then to her thin waist, up to her busty chest, and finally at her beautiful face. "Her eyes are so stunning" he thought to himself, enraptured in them.

"Oh my god, are you checking me out?!" May exclaimed blushing in disbelief.

This broke the boy's trance "wha- oh no, I wasn't I swear!" the boy lied.

"It's just that I heard that a gym leader was moving next door and he had a kid, so I assumed it was a boy. N-not that there's anything wrong with being a girl, I'm not saying that."

May crossed her arms and looked at him skeptically.

"Ah Jesus" said the flustered boy as he nervously scratched the back of his neck.

"Look let's start over" he held out his hand "my name's Brendan, Brendan Birch." "May Maple" May replied shaking his hand.

A long tense silence followed, "So…later on do you want to, like hangout or something?" Brendan asked. "Sure, why not" May replied.

"That's great!" Brendan happily exclaimed. "Well I have to go, I promised I'd help dad document pokemon on Route 103, see ya later!" and with that, Brendan went downstairs.

"Brendan did you meet the neighbor?" May heard Linda ask Brendan downstairs.

"Yeah she's really fine..err I mean nice, well bye ma I told dad I was gonna go help him with field work." Brendan replied. "Well bye honey, be safe" and with that, Brendan went on his way.

May made her way downstairs.

"Oh hi May, did you like Brendan?" Linda asked.

"Oh yes Mrs. Birch errr… I mean Linda, he's real nice. Well I have to go see you Linda."

"Bye honey stay safe, and make good choices!"

"Okay bye" May said as she left the house.

May walked around town for a couple of hours learning about her new home.

She finally stopped when she came across a sign that read "Route 101." "This must be the town limits" May said to herself. The sun was beginning to set.

"Guess I better get going."

May turned around to walk back home, but stopped when she heard the distressed cries of a man. "HELP HELP, PLEASE SOMEONE HELP."

"That sounded like it came from Route 101!" May thought to herself, as she ran down the path.

The path was wide, surrounded by dense forest. She could hear the cries of wild pokemon from the overgrowth sending a chill down her spine.

It didn't take long for May to locate the source of the commotion. A burly man in a lab coat ran in circles as a small black and gray pokemon resembling a dog chased him.

As soon as May saw the pokemon she began to tremble, her palms started to sweat as well as her forehead.

"You-you there!" cried the man "please help me!"

"H-how!" exclaimed May terrified.

"YAOW!" the man cried as the pokemon nipped him in the ass. The man jumped and started to clamber up a nearby tree.

The angry pokemon circled around the tree waiting for the man to come down. "Grab a pokeball from my bag, please hurry!"

The trembling May reached into the bag and found three pokeballs. "Which one!?" May screamed.

"Any, just grab any!" the man cried clinging to the tree for dear life.

May was terrified. She was scared of pokemon, how could she send out a pokemon without running away from it? Let alone battle alongside it.

Nerveless she knew the man was in trouble and she had to help him, so she swallowed her fear and grabbed a pokeball with her trembling hand.

"A-alright here goes nothing, go pokemon!" she cried as she released the ball from her hand.

Out of the ball came a swirling energy that composed itself into a small orange chick like pokemon. "Torchic!" it exclaimed happily turning towards May.

"Oh god, it's looking at me" she thought.

The dog like pokemon catching sight of Torchic turned its attention away from the man and focused on Torchic and May. "Poochyena!" it angrily roared glaring at the fire-type.

"W-what do I do?!" May yelled. "Tell it an attack" answered the man.

"T-torchic attack…" May stammered. The Torchic looked back at May with a puzzled 'what the fuck' look on its face.

The Poochyena taking advantage of the confusion, charged at the Torchic tackling it. "Torchic!" the little fire chick cried in pain as it skidded across the ground, but quickly got up and regained its composure.

"Tell it to use Ember!" the man instructed.

"Use Ember!" May cried.

The little Torchic inhaled deeply, and exhaled spewing a swarm of fiery projectiles from its beak. The projectiles hit their mark and the Poochyena scampered away in defeat.

"Gee that was a close one" the man said as we walked over towards May.

"Thank you young lady, my name is Professor Birch" he said holding out his hand.

"Oh hi, I'm May your new next door neighbor. I just met your wife and son a couple of hours ago" May replied shaking his hand.

"Oh, your Norman's daughter. Wow May you sure have grown; I remember when you were just a little one. You use to call me Mr. Borch."

"Oh really" May said blushing in embarrassment, "well it's nice to meet you again Professor Birch."

"Likewise" replied Prof. Birch.

"Torchic!" the little chick pokemon chirped as it ran towards May and nuzzled her leg.

May turned pale as she froze in place looking down at the pokemon.

"Are you okay?" Prof. Birch asked.

"T-the Torchic" she whispered, "i-it's t-touching me!"

"Oh my, are you afraid of pokemon?" Prof. Birch asked. May nodded in reply.

Prof. Birch grabbed Torchic's pokeball "Torchic return" and with that the Torchic returned to it's ball. The color came back to May's face.

"I'm sorry May, I didn't know you were scared of pokemon" Prof. Birch apologized. "It's okay" she replied. "Well let's go, c'mon I'll walk you home."

"Thanks Prof. Birch" May said as the two made their way back to Littleroot.


	4. Why are you so Afraid?

Chapter 3: Why Are You So Afraid?

"May honey are you all dressed up? The Birches will be here soon!" Caroline yelled from downstairs.

"Yeah I'm ready" May replied. Her mother had made her put on a more dressy attire than her casual wear.

She wore a red dressy button up t-shirt; a low cut black skirt, and black maryjanes. Her long brown hair straightened and held in place with a black headband. May was sprawled across her bed reading a scientific magazine.

Her eyes darting sentence to sentence of an Article that read "25 years of charity. Hearts From Hoenn."

"May come down, they're here!" May closed the magazine and exited her room.

As she descended down the stairs, she saw her dad struggling to put on a black tie.

"Oh hi honey" Norman said as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "Hi dad" she said as she went over to her dad to fix his tie. "Thanks hon" "No problem dad."

"Let's hurry" Caroline yelled from the living room.

Both May and Norman went to the living room as Caroline went to the front door, her orange skirt trailing behind her and opened the door.

"Hello" the Birches said in unison.

"Welcome, come in" Both Caroline and Norman greeted ushering the Birches inside the house.

May caught sight of Brendan. He was wearing a blue dress shirt and black slacks. His had no hat on revealing his combed jet black hair. "Oh, he looks cuter without his hat" May thought blushing.

"Hi…again" Brendan said nervously smiling at her.

Both stared at the floor avoiding eye contact as the two families went to the living room to make conversation with each other. The adults continued to talk oblivious to the tense teens whose eyes were glued to the floor.

"May, why don't you two go hang out in your room?" Caroline piped in. "Yeah" Prof. Birch agreed, "We wouldn't want to bore you with our grown up talk" he said smiling.

"Okay" May replied in almost a whisper.

"Well, lead the way May" Brendan chimed in. The two teens both went upstairs while the adults continued to talk.

The two were silent as they walked down the hall towards May's room. May opened the door and let Brendan in.

"Well this is it" May chuckled nervously. "It's nice, really big too" Brendan replied. May sat on her bed crossing her legs while Brendan looked for a place to park his rear.

"You can sit at my desk if you want" Brendan turned toward the desk and pulled out the chair. "Uh…thanks" he said plopping down on it.

"Sooo…." Brendan trailed off. "Yeah" May asked while looking at the floor and fiddling with her thumbs.

"N-nothing" Brendan replied nervously. A tense silence flooded the room.

"S-so, you came from Johto right?" Brendan inquired.

"Yes" she replied still looking at the ground.

"Well you must have all kinds of stories to tell about the hustle and bustle of the big city" he said.

"No, not really" she responded. "Goldenrod is actually pretty laid back with the exception of the gangs in South Goldenrod."

"Oh" Brendan muttered "well have you ever travelled outside of Goldenrod, you know to other cities?"

May shook her head.

"Why?" Brendan said with a smirk coming across his face "scared of travelling?" he asked mockingly.

"What! No!" May proclaimed angrily.

"Oh sure" Brendan said sarcastically.

"I am NOT scared of travelling!" she yelled blood flowing into her face as she clenched her fists in fury.

"H-hey, c-calm down, I was only kidding. Just trying to lighten the mood" he quickly said seeing the agitation on May's face.

May crossed her arms "well it wasn't funny!" she said angrily.

Brendan couldn't help but stare at May's chest, for her crossed arms had pushed her bust up showing them off.

"I-I'm sorry" he said still gazing at them "and for the record" May added not noticing Brendan staring at her chest " I've always wanted to travel."

"Why didn't you" he asked breaking his gaze away from her breasts.

"N-no reason!" May said nervously, her anger gone.

"C'mon May, you can tell me" he said smiling getting up from the chair to sit next to her.

May grew tense and blushed slightly.

"Oh sorry" Brendan quickly apologized seeing May tense up. "I'll go sit back on the chair" he said turning to go sit back on the chair.

"No its okay you can sit here" May said gesturing for him to sit on the bed next to her.

"Y-you're sure?" he asked. "Yeah I'm sure."

"Ok" Brendan said as he sat on the bed leaving a good gap between May and himself. "So..back to my earlier question, why didn't you travel?"

"Well because…I don't have pokemon" May repied.

"You don't!?" Brendan exclaimed in disbelief. "Why not?" "I'm scared of them" she replied softly.

"But didn't you save my dad from a Poochyena with a pokemon?" he asked. "How do you know about that?" she quickly asked. "I overheard my dad talking to my mom about it" he answered.

"Oh" muttered May, "well that was an emergency, your dad was in trouble so I had to act" she said.

"But how could you be scared of pokemon, they are so nice and friendly" He proclaimed.

"That Poochyena wasn't so friendly!" May countered. "It was probably just startled, or protecting its territory" Brendan defended.

"C'mon May tell me, why are you so afraid of pokemon?"

"Brendan I really don't want to talk about it" she said.

"Aw come on" Brendan persisted.

"Danmit Brendan, there is a reason I don't like talking about it. It was a very traumatizing experience for me and it doesn't help that I get reminded of it every single day, with every single pokemon I lay my eyes on let alone you who keeps pestering me about it!" she yelled.

Brendan stared at her with wide fearful eyes. "Oh my, I'm so sorry I brought it up May" he apologized.

"It's okay" May said softly looking at the floor. "Look I really am sorr-" "No" May interrupted. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled like that, you didn't deserve that" she said lifting her gaze away from the floor into Brendan's ruby red eyes. "Its okay May, you don't need to apologize" he replied his eyes meeting May's.

Both stared at each other inching closer to each other, closer and closer… "Brendan it's time to leave honey, come say goodbye to Norman and Caroline."

The two broke away from their gaze.

"Ok" Brendan yelled back, his face flustered.

"You too May, come down and say goodbye to Prof. Birch and Linda."

"Okay" May yelled blushing.

The two teens went downstairs. The two families said their goodbyes.

"Bye May" Brendan smiled waving as he and his parents exited the house.

"Goodbye Brendan" May replied softly slightly flustered as she closed the door.

"Well May I think it's time for you to get ready for bed" Norman said smiling. "Okay, goodnight dad" May said heading upstairs to go to bed.

30 Minutes Earlier

"Yeah we don't want to bore you with our grown up talk" Prof. Birch suggested to the two teens. "Well lead the way May" Brendan said to May as he followed her up the stairs.

"They get along so well!" Linda joyfully proclaimed. "They sure do!" Caroline replied.

"So Norman, Caroline what do you think of Hoenn?" Prof. Birch asked.

"Oh it's wonderful, the natural beauty is just breathtaking, the air is so fresh and clear…" Caroline trailed off.

"Yeah and the renovations for the gym are done, I'll be ready to take challengers by tomorrow!" Norman triumphantly proclaimed.

"That's great!" Prof. Birch replied.

"Honey tell them now" Linda whispered nudging Prof. Birch with her elbow.

"Tell us what?" Norman asked curiously.

"Well, I have something to tell you, something you should talk with May about when we leave" Prof. Birch said in a hushed tone.

"What?" Norman asked even more curious then before.

Prof. Birch leaned towards Norman and Caroline "I want May to help me complete the Hoenn pokedex." Both Norman and Caroline gasped.

"Oh, um..Prof. Birch I don't think she's up for something like that" Caroline said. "She's terrified of pokemon, I don't think she'll be able to go near pokemon, let alone document them."

"Yeah and she's never travelled before, it could be dangerous" Norman added.

"Look I know about the phobia" Prof. Birch revealed "but that didn't stop her from using them to save me earlier."

"She what!" Norman exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yes she saved me. She put aside her fears in order to help someone in need, that takes a lot of courage. I need someone like her, someone who can put everything aside to do the right thing. I know this is a big task but I know she can pull it off."

"Still" Caroline started "May is scared of pokemon. She may set it aside to do the right thing and save someone, but I'm sure that's not going to happen often. I don't see how she will be able to document them when she won't go near them."

"That's where you two come in" Prof. Birch said "and this" he added reaching into his pocket, pulling out a pokeball.

"This contains a Torchic, the same Torchic May used to save me. I want you to help her get used to pokemon with this Torchic. It already has taken a liking to her; if she starts to associate this Torchic's friendliness with all pokemon she may overcome her fear. Only May will be able to get over her own fear, but I ask you to help her. Please accept my offer, for May's sake."

"I don't know…" Caroline replied unsure.

"This journey can really help May learn more about herself as an individual, but she needs pokemon."

Prof. Birch handed the Maples the pokeball "give her that extra push."

"He's right hon" Norman said to Caroline. "She has always wanted to travel; maybe this will be good for her."

Caroline paused "you know what, you're right, we'll do it." "Thank you Professor, we'll start tomorrow!"

Present Time

"So honey do you really want to start tomorrow?" Caroline asked Norman.

"We gotta start some time" he replied.

"I guess you're right" Caroline said. "Well it's late honey let's get some shut eye."

Norman and Caroline both got in their bed and pulled the covers over themselves.

Norman placed the pokeball containing Torchic on the dresser and turned off the lamp, and the couple went to sleep.

The night was calm and quiet, not like a noisy night would wake the elder Maples from their deep slumber. The only noise came from Norman as he tossed and turned.

"Mmmm let me ride the ponyta…" Norman mumbled in his sleep as he shifted his arm to the side, striking the pokeball causing it to hit the ground releasing the little Torchic.

"Torchic" it chirped curiously observing its new surroundings.

Suddenly an aroma filled its nostrils. It recognized this scent; it was sweet and soothing and instantly put the Torchic at ease. It knew that the sweet aroma came none other than the human they called May.

It hadn't really known May, after all it only battled alongside her once but he felt a connection with her. Sure she was a little weird, but Torchic could sense she was benevolent at heart.

"Torchic!" it happily chirped following the scent.

Torchic followed it until he reached a door slightly ajar, and entered the room. Torchic instantly caught the sound of soft breathing and knew it was May.

"Torchic!" it happily exclaimed jumping onto May's bed.

It walked across May's sleeping form until it was next to the side of her face. There it sat, cuddling next to May's cheek and began to sleep.

May began to stir. "….My cheek…" she muttered in her sleep, not waking the Torchic. A few more minutes passed.

"Ow my cheek!" May said sitting up and cupping her cheek in her hand "it burns!"

This sudden noise and movement woke the Torchic from its slumber. "Torchic!" it eagerly exclaimed seeing May awake.

May took one look at the pokemon and gasped. Her face grew pale, her light blue night gown felt heavier as well as her legs.

The Torchic started towards her trying its best not to lose its balance on the soft plush mattress.

"Gaaahhh!" she exclaimed jumping from the bed, and backing away slowly.

The Torchic oblivious to May's fear continued its advance, jumping from the bed and walking towards May.

May's body was now in fight or flight mode. She had been backed into a corner by her worst fear. She looked around desperately for something to protect herself with.

She ran over to her desk and grabbed various items from it and began to fling them at Torchic. Thinking it was a game, it dodged the items chirping happily.

May grabbed an eraser from her desk and flung it, hitting Torchic squarely on the forehead causing it to fall on its bottom.

The Torchic was in shock. Why had May attacked him? All he wanted to do is play with her. The young Torchic not knowing how to deal with the emotional and physical pain inflicted on him by May began to weep.

May looked toward the weeping pokemon and felt a pang of guilt. Her fear was replaced by sadness. This little pokemon was harmless; it only wanted to play with her. A tear slowly fell from her eye as she realized the Torchic had considered her a friend, and she acting in the heat of the moment had wounded it both physically and emotionally.

More tears fell from May's eyes as she slowly approached the Torchic. "I-I'm so sorry" she said with guilt in her voice.

She gently picked up the Torchic putting it to her chest, her arms under it acting as a cradle and began to sway it softly like a mother with her baby.

The Torchic stopped crying and looked up to May. "Please forgive me Torchic I couldn't help it, please try and understand" she said sobbing.

"I never mean to hurt you, I'm such a bad person." She said disgustingly. "Torchic" it said shaking its head in disagreement. "Torchic, do you forgive me?" she asked. Torchic chirped happily as if to say yes as it cuddled up against her bosom.

"Thanks for forgiving me." May sat on her bed continuing to rock the Torchic in her arms. "Go to sleep little Torchic…" she trailed off. She sat rocking the Torchic in her arms until it fell asleep.

"Goodnight..Torchic" she said sleepily as her eyes began to close, and she too was asleep with her new friend in her arms.

**So that was a long chapter. Just in case you're wondering Jonathan will be making an appearance in a few chapters he's not just some random character I made up for the prologue, he's important to the story. Another big part of the story is the "charity" organization Hearts From Hoenn, we'll learn a little more about them in the coming chapters. Thanks for reading please review, and I hope you enjoyed.**


	5. May's First Battle

**Finally chapter 4 is here. May's journey will truly begin. I'm sorry about the last three chapters. They seemed kind of long and full of dialogue, but they were necessary to set up the story and the dynamic between the two main characters (May and Brendan). So here it is chapter 4. Please review to let me know if you have a problem with the story, want to recommend something for me to put in the story, or just want to leave positive feedback. I hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 4: May's First Battle

The morning sun's rays flooded May's room. May yawned, slowly opening her eyes. She saw the little Torchic soundly asleep in her arms.

"Good morning Torchic" May said petting the pokemon softly. The Torchic slowly woke up. "Torchic!" it chirped happily.

"I'm so glad you're feeling better Torchic, hey do you wanna go play outside?"

"Torchic!" it chirped as if to say yes.

"Ok, let me go brush my teeth and get dressed, then we'll go outside and play" she said placing the happy pokemon on her bed, and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. May grabbed her toothbrush, put the toothpaste and started brushing.

"I can't wait to go out and play with Torchic" she thought "I owe it to him, especially after hurting him last night…Wait a minute" May stopped brushing.

"How the hell did that Torchic get in here in the first place?" she thought, the toothbrush hanging from her mouth.

"Oh no, it's Prof. Birches Torchic! Oh he must be worried! Even worse, he could think I stole it! Aw man I don't want to make a bad impression now, I just got here. Calm down May, just go to Prof. Birch and give him the Torchic, then I'll tell him it just showed up in my room, yeah I'll just tell him the truth! Wait, he doesn't know I'm not scared of pokemon anymore, he'll think I'm lying. Damnit what am I going to do!?"

"Ahhhh….what time is it?" Norman yawned getting off his bed and stretching. He looked toward his still sleeping wife and leaned toward her to kiss her cheek.

He then looked at the clock on the dresser.

"7:00" he said to himself.

He was about to go to the bathroom to shower up and get ready for work when he noticed something.

"Hey where'd the pokeball go?" he thought looking at the bare dresser.

He looked down and saw the empty pokeball on the floor.

"Aw crap" he muttered "it escaped."

May raced to her room after she finished brushing her teeth, her light blue nightgown trailing behind her.

"Torchic!" the little pokemon exclaimed seeing May.

"Torchic we need to get you back to Prof. Birch." May said out of breath.

"Torchic" the little pokemon chirped defiantly.

"Torchic listen to me, you don't belong to me, you belong to Prof. Birch. You have to go back with him." Torchic shook its head.

"Torchic you're gonna get me in trouble if you don't go home. So listen up I'm going to take you over to the Birch's house, knock on the door and leave you on the doorsteps. When they answer the door they'll spot you, and you'll be back home. All's well, it ends well."

"Torchic, Tor-Torchic!" it pouted. "Now there's no need to pout" May said reaching to pick up Torchic.

"Torchic!" it cried jumping over her and running out the room.

"Esta de la chingada!" May said, cursing the situation she was in.

May ran out the room "Torchic come back here!"

Norman frantically searched the house for the Torchic. "Aw man I hope it hasn't left the house" he said to himself.

Norman looked under tables and chairs, anything a little pokemon could hide under.

He continued searching until a thought came into his head. "Oh crap, what if it got into May's room."

"Shit" he muttered to himself as he strode towards May's room.

"Torchic come back here!" Norman heard May yell from the hallway.

Suddenly he saw the little Torchic run towards him, passing between his legs, then May came running right toward him.

BAM

May fell to the floor, as she bounced off Norman. "May are you okay?" Norman asked. "Yeah I'm fine" she replied picking herself off the floor.

"Tor-Torchic" the little fire type chirped.

"Torchic!" both Norman and May said in unison.

"Wha- May, y-you were chasing Torchic!?" Norman said in disbelief.

"Y-yes sir…" she said softly fearing her father was mad at her. "B-but aren't y-"

"It wasn't my fault!" May interrupted "Torchic came out of nowhere last night, and I hurt him by accident, then I realized it was Prof. Birch's, then it started running, and finally I ran into you" she said out of breath.

"But May, you're scared of pokemon right?" Norman asked still in disbelief.

"Well not anymore, okay let me start from the beginning…."

"Oh my, what a crazy night" Norman said. "Yeah I know" May replied "but hey, pokemon don't scare me anymore" she said happily.

"Aw May, I'm sorry about last night, you must've been so scared" he said sadly.

"I was, but I guess you gotta face your fears in order to conquerer them." she said. "I guess you're right honey" Norman said placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, but dad we have to give Prof. Birch his Torchic back, and I don't want to go his house and give it to him, cause I'm afraid he'll think I stole it." May said worryingly. "Oh May you don't have to worry about that, Prof. Birch gave me Torchic to give to you."

"Really!" May said in shock.

"Yeah he wanted me to help you overcome your fear of pokemon, but obviously you took care of that by yourself, so now comes the next step." "What are you talking about dad?" she asked.

"May you've always wanted to travel right?" he asked. "Yeah, ever since I was 6" she replied.

"Well here's your chance to fulfill that dream, Prof. Birch wanted you to overcome your fear of pokemon so you could help him with a task that involves travelling throughout the Hoenn region."

"Oh-My-God, Can I, Can I Please!" May pleaded.

"Of course I want you to do this. I think it will be a great life experience for you, so why don't you go get dressed and head over to Prof. Birch's lab to get the full details."

"Okay! You don't have to ask me twice!" May proclaimed as she raced towards the stairs.

"Oh and May" Norman called out to her. "Yeah dad?" "I'm real proud of you."

"Thanks dad" May said blushing. She raced up the stairs to her room and started getting ready for her journey.

May speedily put on her casual wear. She grabbed the pokeball containing her Torchic. "Come on out Torchic!"

"Torchic!" the little fire type chirped happily.

"Oh Torchic can you believe it, we're going to travel all across Hoenn!" she said tying her green bandanna onto her head. "Meeting new people, seeing new things, it's gonna be great!"

"Torchic!" the little Torchic exclaimed jumping up and down.

"Well I'm dressed, showered, my fanny packs full of supplies…I think we're ready, return Torchic!" May said recalling her pokemon back into its pokeball.

"Time to go to the pokemon lab."

May raced out of her house and down the dirt path leading to Prof. Birch's pokemon lab. The sun's rays bathed Littleroot Town adding to its quaint feel.

May finally reached a big high-tech building. It was totally out of place in the small town.

May entered the structure. "Prof. Birch, Prof. Birch May exclaimed excited. "Oh hello May, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help you complete a task, one which involves me travelling throughout Hoenn" she replied. "Wha- that task, did your dad tell you about it already?" Prof. Birch asked.

"Yeah and I'm ready to go, so what's the task?"

"May, you know this task will involve interacting with pokemon right?"

"I know" May replied.

"But you're scared of pokemon aren't you?" he asked. "Was, I was scared of pokemon but not anymore!" she said cheerfully.

"How in just one day!?" Prof. Birch said in disbelief.

"Oh I have a feeling I'm going to tell this story many more times today" May thought to herself.

"It all happened last night…" May told Prof. Birch what happened the previous night.

"Wow that's some story" Prof. Birch said.

"Yeah, but now Torchic and I are best of friends!" May said happily.

"That's great May! How's the little guy doing?" he asked.

"I'll show you, come on out Torchic!" May said releasing the chick pokemon from its pokeball. "Torchic!" it happily chirped.

"It seems to have really taken a liking to you May." Prof. Birch said smiling.

"So Prof. Birch, what exactly is the task you want me to complete?" May asked. "All in good time May, but first may I ask you to do me a favor?"

"Sure, what do you need" she replied.

"Well this task is something I want you and Brendan to complete. So I want to tell you both what it is at the same time, you know to save me time, but Brendan is up on Route 103 past Oldale Town doing field work, can you bring him over here please" Prof. Birch asked.

"Sure, no problem I'll go right now!" May said as she exited the building.

"Any excuse to see Brendan again is fine by me" she thought to herself giggling.

May reached the sign that read Route 101. "Where it all began" May said to herself as she went down the dirt path.

"Route 101 seems different" she thought.

She wasn't sure if it was the bright sunlight that lit up everything making her feel less vulnerable, the familiarity of the route, or her new tolerance for pokemon, but Route 101 didn't seem as scary as it was when she saved Prof. Birch from the mad Poochyena.

May walked down the path for about 10 minutes, until she reached a town slightly larger than Littleroot.

"This must be Oldale Town" she said to herself. She walked down the road searching for any sign that would point her to Route 103.

"Hey you look out!" cried a voice from behind her.

"What, is something on me!?" she said trying to peer down her back.

"No no you're stepping on pokemon tracks!" May turned around and spotted a boy about her age.

"Pokemon tracks?" she asked "where?"

"There, right there you stupid girl!" he yelled pointing at pair of shoeprints.

"Seriously?" May asked not knowing whether the boy was messing around, or was just really stupid.

"Of course I'm serious! I have just found the tracks of a new never before seen pokemon! Now shoo, get off the tracks!" he said angrily.

"Oh THOSE tracks" May said sarcastically. "Yes THOSE tracks!" the boy said impatiently.

"Well I'm so sorry for impeding on your research" she said in a mocking tone. "Yes, it must be a new pokemon because I've never heard of a pokemon that wears SHOES and leaves SHOEPRINTS." She told the boy.

"Well at least you know why I yelled at you, this could be the discovery of a lifetime! So can you like carry on, if you don't mind" the boy said to May, kneeling down to sketch the tracks in a notebook.

"Pendejo" May muttered as she walked away from the peculiar boy.

May continued down the road until she saw a sign that read "Route 103 up ahead." "Finally, thank god!" she exclaimed as she headed down the path.

Route 103 was a lot like Route 101 except it was a bit wider and it had a small clearing on the east side of the path that revealed a waterway. May looked toward the beautiful blue water, the sunlight glistening off the waves making them sparkle. Aquatic birds flew overhead "Wingull" they all squawked as they flew past May's line of sight. May stood there for a moment. She had never seen such natural beauty in this world. She closed her eyes as the sea breeze blew into her face carrying with it the smell of the sea. In this moment, she knew that this was the start of something important in her life. She knew not what it was, but knew she would find it in this beautiful place they called Hoenn.

May continued to walk down Route 103. As she started to reach the end of the path, she saw a familiar white hat.

"Okay, so it's this one and that one that live on Route 103" Brendan said to himself.

"Hi Brendan!" May greeted him, catching him by surprise.

"Wha- oh hey, it's May! Wait a minute. MAY how did you get here?" Brendan asked surprised.

"Your dad asked me to bring you to the lab" May said nonchalantly. "But May, you can't leave Littleroot without pokemon, its dangerous!" he informed her.

"You're right, good thing I HAVE a pokemon with me" she said smiling. "Your dad gave me a Torchic!"

"But May, I thought you were scared of pokemon?" He said confused.

May sighed "looks like I have to tell the story again" she thought to herself.

"Well it all started last night…" May recount last night's events to the confused Brendan. "Well that's some story" Brendan said. "Yeah" May agreed.

"So May now that you have a pokemon, how about a quick battle?" Brendan challenged.

"A battle!" May said surprised, "I don't know…" she said reluctantly.

"Aw c'mon May, don't be a wuss" he provoked.

"What! I'm no wuss, I accept your challenge!" May proclaimed pulling out her pokeball.

"Let's go Torchic!" she yelled releasing the fire type from its pokeball. "Torchic!" it cried pumped up for the battle.

"Alright go Mudkip!" Brendan yelled releasing a blue four legged pokemon. It had a dark blue fin on its head, a dark blue tail, and orange protrusions on its cheeks. "Mudkip!" it cried ready for battle.

"So May are you ready to battle?" Brendan asked. "Actually I have no idea how to battle" she said blushing in embarrassment. "Oh no need to feel embarrassed May" Brendan comforted her.

"Look I'll tell you the basics. A battle usually consists of two trainers, but four can participate. They send out their pokemon and each pokemon trys to knock out the other for the win. To make your pokemon attack, you have to tell it an attack. I assume you don't know Torchic's attacks" Brendan inquired. "I only know one, Ember" May replied. "Well it's a good thing I know the rest of his moves. Torchic can use a move called Scratch, in which he rakes the opponent with his sharp talons. The other move he can use is Growl. Growl lowers the opponent pokemon's attack, giving your pokemon an advantage" he informed May. "So do you think you're ready now?" "Yeah I think I'm ready" May replied.

"Okay let's do this! May you make the first move since you're a girl and a beginner."

"Fine by me, Torchic use Growl!" Torchic let out a low guttural growl that caught Mudkip of guard.

A sudden adrenaline rush came over May as she clenched her fists.

(Inner thoughts) "Oh my, I'm so focused right now; it's as if I'm looking through Torchic's eyes." (End of Inner thoughts)

"Don't let Torchic intimidate you! Use Tackle!" the Mudkip charged at the Torchic slamming its head against it.

"Torchic!" the little fire type cried in pain as the blow sent it reeling but the Growl had weakened the Tackle, allowing Torchic to quickly compose itself.

(Inner thoughts) "Arrggg! I felt that blow as if I were the one that received the blow, but I won't give up on Torchic. I know he still has fight in him!" (End of inner thoughts)

"Torchic use Scratch!" the Torchic charged the Mudkip and raked him with sharp talons.

"Don't let up Torchic!" May cried as Torchic continued to slash away at the Mudkip.

"Mudkip blast Torchic away with Water Gun!" Brendan yelled.

The little Mudkip cringing in pain managed to open its mouth and release a powerful jet of water, sending Torchic flying towards May.

"Torchic!" May cried. "Tor…" the little fire type chirped trying its best to get back up on its feet.

(Inner thoughts) "C'mon Torchic you can pull through!" (End of inner thoughts)

"Let's finish this, use Water Gun one more time!" The injured Mudkip opened its mouth one more time releasing a jet of water striking Torchic knocking it out.

"Torchic!" May cried running toward Torchic. "You did great Torchic get some rest" she said recalling Torchic back into its pokeball.

"May I-I'm sorry that I beat you, if it means any-" "Don't apologize" May interrupted looking up toward Brendan smiling "you won fair and square!"

"Well you're taking this loss pretty well" Brendan replied smiling.

"Brendan I don't care that I lost, that battle was exhilarating! I have never experienced anything so heart pounding in my life!" she proclaimed enthusiastically.

"Well, that's a pokemon battle for you" Brendan chuckled "and you're not half bad, I got a little worried there when your Torchic started slashing away at Mudkip."

"Well your Mudkip was pretty tough too, you raised it well" May praised.

"Awww thanks" he said blushing. "Well May, we should head back to the lab but before that let's go heal or pokemon at the Oldale Town Pokemon Center."

"Okay lead the way" May said as she followed Brendan back to Oldale Town.

"Your pokemon will be healed in a few minutes, why don't you two sit at the lounge while you wait" Nurse Joy suggested.

"Sure, thank you Nurse Joy" Brendan and May thanked as they went over to the lounge. Both trainers plopped down on the lounge sofa.

"So May, you're finally going to be able to travel. You must be excited" Brendan inquired.

"Oh I sure am, I wonder what your dad wants us to do." May pondered.

"Who knows" Brendan replied "We'll find out soon enough. So May… have you considered attempting the Pokemon League challenge?" Brendan asked.

"No I haven't. Do you really think I got what it takes?" May asked. "Sure, hell my dad trusts you with a task that is going to involve you travelling throughout Hoenn, and after battling with you, I know you got what it takes!" he said sincerely.

May blushed "aww thanks Brendan" she said hugging him. "Oh my" he thought to himself blushing. He hugged her back, slowly moving his hands down her back to her waist.

"May, Brendan your pokemon are fully healed!" Nurse Joy called out. The two broke away from their embrace. "Oh…uh sorry abo-" "No, no it's fine" May interrupted her face flustered "let's just get our pokemon and head back to Littleroot." "Yeah" Brendan agreed. The two grabbed their pokemon, thanked Nurse Joy and left Oldale Town.

The two were silent as they walked down Route 101, still embarrassed from their embrace in the Pokemon Center. They finally returned to Prof. Birch's pokemon lab.

The two entered the building. "Oh there you two are!" Prof. Birch said to the both of them smiling.

"Hi Prof. Birch!" May greeted "hey dad!" Brendan greeted. "So what's the task!" May asked anxiously.

"Well you both know that as a pokemon professor my duty is to study pokemon and learn about them. Unfourtanetly I'm not able to travel far, since my lab is here in Littleroot. It so happens over in Kanto Prof. Oak has built a portable encyclopedia that automatically records data from any pokemon you encounter"

"Wow so cool!" Brendan proclaimed.

"Odelay!" May said cheerfully. Both Brendan and Prof. Birch looked at May puzzled.

"What?" May asked "just a little slang from Goldenrod" she said blushing.

"Oh, well I just received two pokedexes from Prof. Oak, and I want you two to use them to help me in my work, by documenting all the pokemon in the Hoenn Region!" Prof. Birch proclaimed excitingly.

"That's awesome, we'll start now!" Brendan said thrilled.

"Here you go" Prof. Birch said handing both May and Brendan the pokedexes. "Wow" May muttered amazed at the high-tech encyclopedia.

"Run along now" Prof. Birch said "you two have a long journey ahead of you!"

"You can count on us dad! C'mon May!" Brendan said grabbing May's wrist as he ran towards the door. "Thanks Prof. Birch!" May barley got too say as Brendan dragged her outside.

"Wow this is gonna be so cool!" Brendan told May as he jumped up and down exhilarated. "Yeah I can't wait to start!" May said. "So May have you thought about taking on the Pokemon League challenge?" Brendan asked.

"I thought about it… and yes, I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna take the challenge!" May proclaimed.

"Awesome, I knew you would do it!" Brendan exclaimed.

"May, May come here!" May turned around to see her smiling mom.

"Oh hi mom!" May said running to her mom to give her a hug. "My little girl going off on her own journey, I'm so proud!" Caroline exclaimed happily.

"Aww shucks…" May said blushing.

"Just promise me you'll be safe okay" Caroline said. "I will ma" May promised.

"Oh and May" Caroline said as May was about to leave. "Take this" she said handing May a jade pendant. "What's this?" May asked. "It's a pendant passed down to me from grandma, and grandma got it from great grandma and so on so forth. Now I'm passing it down to you." May observed the pendant and saw a peculiar drawing in the jade.

"What's this?" May asked. "It's Rayquaza the sky serpent" Caroline answered. Our ancestors worshipped him as a god long ago."

"Wow cool!" May said entranced by the pendant.

"With it you'll have the strength and courage of the sky serpent." Caroline added.

"Thanks mom" May said smiling.

"Well bye honey, be safe" Caroline said as she walked back home. May stared at the pendant some more, then put it around her neck.

"What did your mom tell you?" Brendan asked curiously. "She just wanted to say goodbye" May answered.

"Oh" Brendan replied.

"Well I'm gonna get going" May said as she started down Route 101.

"Wait!" Brendan yelled. May turned around "yeah what is it?"

"Well I was thinking, you wanna travel together you know at least until we get to Petalburg City" Brendan asked flustered.

"Sure why not!" May replied smiling.

The duo walked down Route 101 as the sun began to set. They knew not what lay ahead for them, but one thing was certain they're journey had begun.

**So May's journey has just begun. What will happen to her? Who will she meet? Only time will tell. For those of you that are curious, Jonathan will make an appearance in the next chapter. You may have noticed I used slang in this chapter, well I'm going to continue to do it. If any of you readers need to ask what certain terms mean, just comment and I'll tell you. Thanks for reading and please review.**


	6. Hearts From Hoenn-May's First Catch

**I want to warn you readers that this chapter contains a scene of torture. Personally I don't think it's graphic at all, but I do not want to offend any of you that are uncomfortable with this sort of material. So to avoid offending anybody I will provide warnings on where the scene starts and ends so you can skip it. Please comment if you have an issue with the scene or chapter, and please review. I hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 5: Hearts From Hoenn/Route 102- May's First Catch

"C'mon Jonathan hurry up!" yelled a 7 year old Juan.

"I'm coming I'm coming, hold your ponytas!" 7 year old Jonathan yelled back, his short legs struggling to keep up with his energetic friend.

The two youngsters ran down the busy streets of Sootopolis City.

"Jeez you're slower than a Slowpoke!" Juan yelled as he continued running down the street.

"Shut up!" Jonathan yelled running as fast as he could to keep up with his friend.

"Hurry up Jonathan the park is just around the corner!" Juan said as he ran down the sidewalk, turning to the left as he hit the corner of the street.

"Wait up!" Jonathan yelled as he too turned the corner.

"Man you sure are slow, I almost died of old age waiting for you" Juan exaggerated as Jonathan gasped for air.

"No…fair…you had a head start" Jonathan replied panting between words.

"Excuses, Excuses" Juan replied as the pair entered the park.

The sound of laughter and innocence rang through their ears; all around them children played having an all around good time.

"So Juan, what do you wanna play on? Swings, Mankey bars, the slide?" "Actually I wanted to play hide and seek." Juan replied. "Really hide and seek? We could play that anywhere" Jonathan protested.

"Aw c'mon, please!" Juan pleaded. "Oh alright" Jonathan reluctantly agreed.

"Alright!" Juan exclaimed happily "okay, close your eyes and count too ten and no peeking!" Juan warned.

"I won't" Jonathan said as he covered his eyes with his hands, the children's laughter still permeating throughout the park.

"1…

2…

3…

4…

5" when Jonathan reached 5 the laughter stopped, the park was dead silent. "That's weird" Jonathan thought.

"6…

7…

8…

9…

10 ready or not here I come!" Jonathan moved his hands away from his eyes revealing an empty playground. There was no sign of Juan or the other children.

"Hello" Jonathan said aloud hoping for a response. An eerie silence answered him.

"This is giving me the creeps" he said to himself as he started searching for Juan.

5 minutes passed, then 15 and still no sign of Juan or the other children.

"Alright Juan this isn't funny, come out already!" he yelled angrily.

"You killed us…"

"What?!" Jonathan spun towards the source of the voice, nothing.

"You killed us"

Again Jonathan spun around revealing nothing but thin air.

"S-show yourself" Jonathan stammered his heart pounding rapidly.

"It's all your fault"

Jonathan turned around once again, only this time two figures stood before him with their backs to him.

One of the figures was a little girl in a pink nightgown. The other one was taller, with a gown like growth covering its legs; he recognized it as the pokemon Gardevoir.

"You killed us"

"No it wasn't my fault!" Jonathan yelled taking himself by surprise with his deep adult voice. Jonathan looked at his hands; they were no longer a small child's hands, but large rugged man hands.

"You killed us" the emotionless voice said yet again.

"No I didn't damnit!"

"It's all your fault"

"No, please stop tormenting me!" he pleaded falling to his knees, and covering his ears to block the voice.

"You killed us"

"No!"

"It's all your fault"

"NOOOO!"

Jonathan gasped for air as he lifted himself off his desk. "It-It was just a dream" the 49 year old man told himself as his chest heaved in and out as his lungs took in air.

Jonathan ran his hand over his shaved head as he got up from his desk. "I need a drink" he said pulling whiskey and shot glass out from his desk.

He poured the liquor into the shot glass and drank it in one swift gulp.

"Awww that hits the spot!" he said wiping some of the liquor off his moustache and beard.

He poured another glass and walked over toward the window in his beautiful art deco stylized executive office overlooking the beautiful city of Lilycove.

He stared down onto the city from the tallest building in Lilycove City, the Hearts From Hoenn Headquarters which stood at a whopping 2,722 feet.

It towered over Lilycove, a symbol of the organization's power. The bright lights from the smaller buildings and cars twinkled below him in the black of night.

Jonathan shook his hand in a circular motion causing the whiskey to spin in the shot glass.

A knock came at his door.

"Come in" Jonathan grumbled as a man in dark military fatigues walked into the room.

"Sir, the potential Aqua Diglett (mole) will not comply with us, we have tried 'persuading' him but he will not budge. We need further orders from you" the man said to Jonathan.

"Looks like I have to do everything myself" Jonathan muttered "take me to him."

The pair left the office and into a long hallway. They walked down the hallway until they reached an art deco stylized elevator and went in.

Jonathan looked at the buttons on the elevator that took you to different floors, and slid a small shaft beneath the buttons open. Inside the shaft were four other buttons that read B1, B2, B3, and B4.

Jonathan pushed B4 and the elevator began to descend. "So where'd you find him?" Jonathan asked.

"We found him stationed at Rustboro City; he hasn't spoken to any of us yet. That's why I came to you."

"We don't need him to talk with us yet, we just need him to work with us. I know what Team Aqua is up to in Rustboro, but we need to know more, what their next movements are, so we need a diglett (mole) in their organization" Jonathan said.

"He's only a grunt sir" the man informed.

"He has ears" Jonathan said as the elevator came to a halt.

The elevator opened revealing a long gray corridor lit only by a line of fluorescent lights. The two walked down the corridor until they reached a steel door.

The uniformed man opened the door and the two went inside a small windowless room only inhabited by two chairs, a table, and a Team Aqua grunt.

**WARNING START OF TORTURE SCENE**

"Here he is" the uniformed man said gesturing toward the Team Aqua grunt tied up in the chair.

The grunt had been beaten. He had two black eyes, bruised cheeks, a busted lip, a broken nose, and a deep bleeding gash above his right eye.

"He refuses to comply, so we've been trying to persuade him" the man said to Jonathan.

Jonathan walked over to the Aqua grunt coughing out blood. "Why are you making things so difficult?" Jonathan said raising the grunt's head with his hand to look him in the eye.

"I'm no traitor" the grunt stammered "I ain't doing nothing for you!" he yelled spitting on Jonathan's face.

"Well you've brought this upon yourself" Jonathan muttered wiping the bloody saliva from his face "bring out the bucket."

"Yes sir" the uniformed man said leaving the room, and coming back with a bucket of water and a rag draped over his shoulder.

Jonathan grabbed the back of the chair and slammed it to the ground so the Aqua grunt faced the ceiling.

"Put the rag on his face" Jonathan instructed.

"Wha-No!" the grunt pleaded as the man in the uniform placed the rag over the grunt's face. "L-look you d-don't have to do this, l-let's talk this out" the grunt begged, the rag muffling his voice.

"Oh you had plenty of time to talk" Jonathan replied sinisterly as he tilted the bucket, pouring the water over the grunt's rag covered face. The grunt struggled desperately in his ropes, blistering his wrists as he gurgled and coughed, drowning beneath the rag. Jonathan stopped to let the grunt breath.

"I don't know, he looks like he needs to be persuaded a little more, what do you think?" Jonathan chuckled turning toward the uniformed man. "I think he needs to be persuaded a little more sir!" the uniformed man replied.

"Well you heard the man…"

"No No wait plea-" the grunt was cut off as Jonathan poured more water onto him.

"C'mon you guys love water!" Jonathan said mockingly as he poured the water onto the struggling grunt's face until the bucket was empty. Jonathan then slammed the bucket onto the grunt's face causing the grunt to scream in pain.

"Pick him up" Jonathan ordered the uniformed man "and take the rag off his face." The man picked up the chair and removed the rag from the grunt's face revealing a battered, bloody, broken man near unconsciousness.

"Hey wake up, wake up!" Jonathan said snapping his fingers near the grunt's face to get his attention.

"P-please no more…" the grunt said softly.

"I won't unless you don't want to cooperate" Jonathan replied.

"Well I really don't have a choice now do I?" the grunt said broken.

"No no, of course you have a choice!" Jonathan said with an evil smile "you can cooperate and live, or you can stay loyal to your organization, and I'll have my friend over here bring me my chainsaw and I'll cut you up into little pieces. Then I'll feed ya to my Mightyenas."

"I-I'll do whatever you want, just tell me what to do" the grunt stammered.

"Good, that's a smart decision" Jonathan said still smiling. "Now all I want you to do is to keep tabs on your organization for me, that's all."

"R-really? That's all you want me to do!?" the grunt said incredulously.

"Yes! That's all I wanted, see what a big deal you made out of all this. If you just cooperated in the first place, I wouldn't have had to water board you" Jonathan said nonchalantly.

The grunt mustered up all the courage he had left and asked "why do you want to know what my organization is up too?"

Jonathan grabbed the grunt by his hair and started slamming his head against the back of the chair repeatedly. "YOU DON'T GET TO FUCKING ASK QUESTIONS! YOU JUST DO AS YOU'RE FUCKING TOLD, GOT IT!" Jonathan yelled heaving with rage.

"G-got it" the grunt said trying his best to hold back his tears.

"Good!" Jonathan said as he turned toward the uniformed man "clean him up."

**End of Torture Scene**

May slowly opened her eyes. She lifted herself from her bed and stretched.

She looked at her alarm clock "5:03" she said to herself. May managed to force herself off the comfortable bed and head towards the bathroom to shower.

The bathroom was porcelain white, a little bland for May's taste but hey what do you expect from a Pokemon Center bathroom.

May turned the knobs for the shower releasing a flow of water from the shower head. As she waited for the temperature to get just right she began to undress.

The cold morning air hit her naked form making her shiver. She quickly jumped into the shower. The warm water felt good on her cold skin. She proceeded to wash herself starting from her feet, all the way up to her head. The whole process took about 37 minutes.

When she was finished, she turned the water off and wrapped herself in a white towel (courtesy of the Pokemon Center) as well as her freshly washed hair. May went into her room and got dressed. When she was finished dressing it was 5:46. "I should go brush my teeth" she thought and went back to the bathroom.

It was 5:50 when she was done. "Well I guess I'll go wake up Brendan" she said to herself.

May left her room and went into the Oldale Town Pokemon Center's lounge. Brendan was sprawled on the lounge's sofa, sleeping soundly.

May walked up to him "Brendan wake up!" she said softly nudging his back.

"What do you want?" Brendan grumbled sleepily.

"C'mon let's have some breakfast so we can start heading to Petalburg" May replied. Brendan looked at his watch. "May, its 5:52 in the morning" he said annoyed. "Well it's a long walk to Petalburg isn't it?" May answered.

"May, Nurse Joy isn't even awake yet" Brendan replied. "Look I'm going back to sleep, I suggest you do the same" and with that he went back to sleep.

"Chale" May muttered annoyed. "Well I'm going to have breakfast. I'll be waiting for you at the nearest diner or café."

"Sure…see you then" Brendan mumbled sleepily. May exited the Pokemon Center.

It was still dark out, the sun had not yet risen. All of Oldale still seemed to be sleeping. "Maybe I should have slept more" May muttered rubbing both her arms to keep warm in the cold dawn air.

May started down the sidewalk looking at the different shops.

She passed Pokemarts, Pokeball stores, herbal stores, etc. "This sucks all the stores are closed and I don't see a diner anywhere!" May complained.

May continued to walk down the street she caught whiff of a sweet aroma, it was a diner!

Inside she could see it was busy; people sitting at tables and eating, waitresses taking orders while rushing to and from the kitchen and their patrons. May's stomach grumbled.

"Well I guess that means it's time to eat!" May entered the diner and was approached by a waitress

"Hello, welcome to the Oldale Town Diner. Are you alone, or with a group?" the waitress asked.

"Oh, uh I'm in a group, but the other person is on his way here" May replied "I'm sure he'll be here soon." The waitress nodded smiling, "well let me escort you to your table." May followed the waitress to a table with two chairs.

May sat down as the waitress handed her a menu. "I'll be back in a jiffy to take your order" the waitress said as she headed back into the kitchen.

May looked at the menu "oh my god" she thought to herself eyes sparkling as she saw all the wonderful meals on the menu. They had pancakes, omelets, scrambled eggs, bacon, etc.

"I think I'll have the chocolate chip pancakes" May thought to herself as she placed the menu on the table.

"Now back to our 2 hour special honoring 25 years of the pharmaceutical company Hearts From Hoenn." May turned around to face a T.V situated at the corner of the diner.

"During its many years, Hearts From Hoenn have led to the invention of many products that advance the welfare of pokemon. Such products include the Full Restore, Max Potion, Full Heal, Rare Candy, and Pokemon Vitamins, but the real highlights of this amazing organization is its philanthropic endeavors. Hearts From Hoenn has helped fund institutions and organizations that specialize in fields such as pokemon research, ecology, and green technology. Hearts From Hoenn have also helped create advanced early warning weather systems to help advert natural disasters such as the Mount Chimney Disaster 27 years ago…"

"May I take your order now?" May looked up to see a smiling waitress hovering over her.

"Oh uh…" Before May could say anything she saw Brendan enter the diner. "Excuse me ma'am" May politely said to the waitress "of course" the waitress replied smiling.

"Brendan! Brendan over here!" May said waving to get his attention.

"Oh there you are" he said as he walked over towards May's table.

"Hello" the waitress greeted still smiling, as she handed Brendan a menu. "Oh thanks" Brendan said gratefully as he took his seat at the table.

"So ma'am what will you be having?" the kind waitress said turning to May. "Oh yes, I'll have the chocolate chip pancakes."

"How about you sir?" the waitress said turning toward Brendan. "I'll just have some hash browns" he replied.

"Okay I'll be right back with your meals" and with that the waitress went back into the kitchen once more. "Just hash browns?" May said smiling.

"Yeah, what of it?" Brendan asked.

"Don't you think you should eat a little more, we'll be walking for quite some time" May informed him.

"Well…I'm kind of on a diet" he replied a little embarrassed.

"Oh I see, counting calories huh" May said giggling "who are you trying to impress?" "N-nobody!" Brendan replied blushing fiercely.

"Oh I'm just messing with you, there's nothing wrong with healthy eating…even if you are trying to impress someone" "I'm not!" he protested. "Those Hearts From Hoenn guys are really something huh" May said changing the subject.

"Huh" Brendan said still red in the face "what guys?" May nodded toward the T.V "oh the Hearts From Hoenn, yeah they're real nice hell they built my dad's pokemon lab" he informed her, forgetting the earlier subject. "Wow that's pretty generous of them" May replied.

"May, Brendan your breakfasts are ready!" the waitress said as she placed their meals on the table "enjoy!"

"Thanks" the two trainers both said to the waitress.

"Oh my, this looks really tasty!" May said fork in hand.

"Boy did that fill me up" May told Brendan as they exited the diner. "Well let's get going" Brendan said as the duo headed towards Route 102.

The morning sun shone down upon them as they entered Route 102. Route 102's path was very jagged and rugged, very different from both Route 101, and Route 103.

Brendan pulled out a small device from his backpack.

"What's that?" May asked. "This is a pokenav, it's a mobile phone and digital map all in one" he replied "I got it last year on my birthday."

"Wow that's so cool; I've never had anything like that before." "Really?" he asked. "Yeah, my parents couldn't afford to buy me nice things, so all the little extra things I have I worked for."

"That sucks, what kind of work did you do?" Brendan asked curiously.

"I would hang around construction or utility stores with a bunch of other people. Then people who needed help repairing their house would hire us to do it for them."

"What exactly did you do?" Brendan asked. "I put primer on houses we were going to repaint" May replied. "Oh…well now that your dad is a gym leader he'll be able to buy you more expensive things" Brendan inquired.

"Maybe, but I really don't want stuff like that. I find entertainment in simpler things like exploring, travelling, nature, reading, YOU." May said jokingly.

"Oh low blow, you hurt me so" Brendan said acting emotionally wounded by her comment. "And the Oscar goes to…someone other than Brendan!" The two both laughed.

"Well at least someone finally found her sense of humor" Brendan chuckled "oh hardy har har" May said sarcastically.

"No one can beat us huh!" came a voice from down the path. "Yeah we're unstoppable!" came another voice.

"Let's see who it is!" May said grabbing Brendan's wrist. "W-wait, we don't even know who-" Brendan was unable to finish his sentence as May dragged him down the path towards the voices. They found the source of the voices, two seven year old boys.

"Hey look, two trainers!" said one of the boys. "Hi my name's May!" she greeted "and this es mi carnale Brendan!" "Hello" Brendan said nervously.

"Hi my name's Allen!" said one of the boys, "and my name's Billy!" said the other. "Together we can't be stopped!" the boys proclaimed in unison.

"Well well, Hey Brendan that sounds like a challenge!" May said pulling out her pokeball. "You're right May that does sound like a challenge" Brendan replied pulling out his pokeball "let's show them a real battle!"

"Fine with us!" both Allen and Billy replied. "Go Tailow!" Allen yelled releasing a small bird pokemon from his pokeball. "Tailow!" it chirped ready for battle. "Go Zigagoon!" Billy yelled. Out of his pokeball came a small brown striped energetic pokemon that resembled a raccoon. "Zigzagoon!" it cried running in circles chasing its own furry tail.

Brendan and May both pulled out their pokedexes to document the two boys' pokemon.

"Tailow, the tiny swallow pokemon" came a feminine automated voice from the pokedexes "although it is small, it is very courageous. It will take on a larger Skarmory on an equal footing. However it will weaken if it becomes hungry."

"Zigzagoon the tiny raccoon pokemon, rubbing its nose against the ground, it always wanders about back and forth in search something. It is distinguished by the zigzag footprints it leaves."

"Go Mudkip!" Brendan yelled releasing his blue water type from its pokeball. "Mudkip!" it cried, tense and ready for battle.

"Let's go Torchic!" May cried releasing her small fire type from its pokeball. "Torchic!" it chirped pumped and ready to throw down.

"Ready May?" Brendan whispered turning toward May. "Always" she replied.

"Okay Zigzagoon, use Sand Attack!" Billy yelled as Zigzagoon used its tail to throw sand at its opponents.

"Tailow use Gust to spread the sand onto both Mudkip and Torchic!" "Tailow!" it chirped flapping its wings, creating a whirlwind of sand that bore down on both Mudkip and Torchic.

"Mudkip block Torchic's eyes with your tail!" Mudkip nodded and covered Torchic's eyes with its tail as the whirlwind hit both pokemon.

"Brendan what are you doing?!" May yelled. "It doesn't make sense to have both our pokemon blinded and defenseless" Brendan informed her.

"You're right, Torchic when that whirlwind subsides use Growl!" May instructed. "Tor" Torchic replied in agreement letting out a low guttural growl from the bottom of its throat, lowering the attack of both Tailow and Zigzagoon.

"Use Wing Attack!" Allen yelled. "Tai-Low!" Tailow chirped its wings glowing as it glided toward Torchic.

"Use Ember Torchic!" Torchic opened its mouth releasing a swarm of fiery projectiles that struck Tailow with surprising force.

"Tailow!" it cried as it crashed down onto the ground knocked out. "Oh no Tailow!" Allen cried. "Don't worry Zigzagoon still has fight in him!" Billy said.

"Oh no you don't, Mudkip use Water Gun!" Mudkip opened its mouth releasing a jet of water. "Dodge it Zigzagoon!" The Zigzagoon easily dodged the jets of water due to its speed, and Mudkip's lowered accuracy from the Sand Attack.

"Zigzagoon use Tackle!" "Zagoon!" it cried charging at Mudkip. "Mudkip!" Mudkip cried in pain as Zigzagoon sent him flying towards a tree. "Kip!" it cried as it struck the tree with considerable force.

"No Mudkip! Are you okay?!" Brendan yelled. "Mud…" Mudkip said weakly as it got back onto its four legs.

"Poor Mudkip" May thought as her eyes caught sight of something fall from the tree and land on the ground.

"What's that?" May said curiously as she pulled out her pokedex.

"Wurmple the worm pokemon" the pokedex said "It sticks to tree branches and eats leaves. The thread it spits from its mouth, which becomes gooey when it touches air, slows the movement of its foes."

"Wurmple" it grumbled angrily as it unraveled itself. It was about a foot long, its body red and spiky on top, and smooth and tan on the bottom. It had ten spike like legs, as well as a big spike on its head, and two on its rear.

"It doesn't look too happy!" May said. "Yeah, I think we disturbed it while it was sleeping!" Brendan replied.

"Wurmple!" it cried as it shot long sticky strands of gooey fibers as Allen, Billy, Tailow, and Zigzagoon. "Ewww, what is it?!" Allen cried struggling in it. "Yeah, it's sticky!" Billy replied. "Wurmple used String Shot!" Brendan informed them, "hold on I'll get you out of it!" he said running toward them.

"Wurmple!" it cried once more shooting poison barbs straight at Brendan. "Brendan look out!" May cried her eyes wide in fear of Brendan's safety.

"Mudkip!" Mudkip exclaimed as it jumped in front of Brendan, taking the full force of the Poison Sting. "Oh no Mudkip! Return!" Brendan cried as he recalled his injured pokemon.

"May, it's up to you to fend off that Wurmple!" Brendan exclaimed heading towards the tangled trainers and their pokemon.

The Wurmple set its eyes on May and Torchic, glaring at them with evil intent. May's palms began to sweat; her fear began to slowly creep over her. "No, I thought I was over this!" May thought, trying her best to keep it from overwhelming her. "Tor" Torchic chirped at her sensing her fear.

"Tor-Torchic" it chirped as if it were trying to comfort her. May nodded at Torchic and saw it sparkle slightly. "Wha-what was that?!" May said dumbfounded.

"Torchic learned a new move!" Brendan yelled struggling to untie Allen from the threads.

May pulled out her pokedex. "Torchic known moves" it said in an automated voice "Ember, Scratch, Growl, Peck."

"Peck huh" May mumbled to herself "let's put it to the test!" she proclaimed.

"Sky serpent give me your courage" she said to herself rubbing the pendant of Rayquaza between her index finger and thumb. She swallowed her fear and got into battle stance.

"Ready Torchic?" May asked. "Tor!" it replied ready to battle.

"Okay, use Growl!" May yelled. Torchic let out a low guttural growl.

The Wurmple flinched, but quickly retailiated using Poison Sting, shooting a flurry of poisonous darts at Torchic.

"Torchic use Ember!" Torchic opened its beak spewing a plethora of fiery projectiles at Wurmple. The Ember projectiles made quick work of the darts and hit Wurmple.

"Wurm!" it cried reeling from the blow. It quickly got back up and shot a flurry of white sticky threads at Torchic. The threads wrapped around Torchic tightly.

"Oh no Torchic!" May cried. Torchic struggled in its threads as Wurmple began its charge.

"May remember the new move!" Brendan yelled.

"Oh yeah I almost forgot" May said as Wurmple continued its charge.

"Wait for it…" May said as Wurmple got closer to Torchic "wait for it…" Wurmple was halfway there "wait for it…Now Torchic use Peck!" Torchic slammed its beak down onto the Wurmple's head instantly knocking it out.

"Alright Torchic, great job!" May cheered as she reached into her fanny pack pulling out a pokeball.

"Okay ese, you're mine!" she shouted throwing the pokeball at Wurmple.

The pokeball opened up, turning Wurmple into a red swirl of energy, and closed trapping the energy inside. The pokeball shook three times and clicked, May had caught her first pokemon.

"Odelay!" she proclaimed triumphantly as she picked up the pokeball containing Wurmple, placing it on her belt.

Then she went over toward her Torchic and released it from the fibers.

"Tor!" it chirped happily jumping into May's arms. "You did great Torchic, I'm so proud of you!" May said hugging Torchic.

"Wow May that was so cool!" Brendan said running up to her. "Thanks" she said blushing.

"Yeah that was cool!" Billy exclaimed. "You're the coolest person we have ever met!" Allen proclaimed.

"Aww c'mon guys, you're making me blush" she said flustered.

"From now on, we are going to act just like you!" Allen said turning to Billy "Odelay Billy!" "Odelay Allen!" the boys told each other mimicking May.

"What does odelay mean?" Brendan asked. "Nevermind that, Brendan I think we need to head to a Pokemon Center right away, your Mudkip is poisoned!" she reminded him.

"Oh yeah, come on out Mudkip" Brendan said releasing his injured Mudkip. "Mud…" it said softly still in pain.

"Don't worry little buddy, I'll get rid of that poison right quick!" he said pulling an Antidote from his backpack. "Always prepare for the worst" he said spraying the medicine onto Mudkip. "Mudkip!" it cried happily, its poison gone.

"Well I'm glad Mudkip is feeling better" May said smiling. "Yeah but he's still hurt from the battle, and so are your pokemon, so I think we should start heading to Petalbug right away" Brendan told her.

"Hey Allen, Billy" Brendan said turning toward the two young boys "I think you two should also go heal your pokemon." Okay, bye May and Brendan it was nice meeting you!" they said heading in the direction of Oldale Town.

"Well let's go" May said as both trainers recalled their pokemon and headed toward Petalburg City.

**Fun fact, the Hearts From Hoenn Building is as tall as the actual tallest building in our world, the Burj Khalifa. One other fun fact is that the two young trainers in this chapter are actual trainers you can battle in Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. So what did you think of this chapter? Did you like it or not, please review.**


	7. Petalburg City

Chapter 6: Petalburg City

**So are you readers enjoying my story? I haven't heard from any of you in a while. I really would love to consider anything you readers have to offer to improve the quality of the story, or improve your reading experience. Don't be scared to critique my work, I won't get offended. In fact I'll see it as a sign that I'm doing a good job because you took the time to read my story, analyze it and point out its flaws so I could learn from them. So without further adieu I present to you Chapter 6, I hope you enjoy!**

"Wow, that's Petalburg?!" May exclaimed in awe as both her and Brendan finally made their way through the jagged passage that was Route 102.

Now May was faced with the beautiful sprawl of Petalburg City. Although it was not as big or busy as Goldenrod, it had a familiarity to it since she grew up in a big city, a nice change from the two small towns she had passed through.

"Yep that's Petalburg City" Brendan said smiling.

"Oh I can't wait to battle dad; this will officially be the start of my journey to become champion!" May proclaimed giddy with anticipation.

"Well before you challenge your dad I think we should heal our pokemon" said Brendan.

"Oh yeah I almost forgot!" she said "let's head to the nearest Pokemon Center pronto!" May ran down the streets of Petalburg aimlessly as Brendan struggled behind her.

"Wow the building are big here too!" May exclaimed marveling at the skyscrapers "and here I thought Hoenn was going to be one endless maze of jungles, paths, and small towns."

"May wait up!" Brendan yelled finally catching up to her. "Do you even know where you're going?" he asked.

"Oh uh I actually have no idea, I just started wandering around…" May replied embarrassed.

"Well instead of wandering around aimlessly, let us consult the pokenav" Brendan said pulling out his portable Hoenn map.

"Let's see… the Petalburg City Pokemon Center is two blocks east of us."

"East, where exactly is east?" May asked.

Brendan lifted his arm pointing at the direction opposite of where May was heading "that way."

"Oh okay" May said smiling "let's go!" she said as she started running east "hey wait up!" Brendan cried once again trying to keep up with May.

"Here it is!" May cried as she reached a building with a red roof.

"Jeez…you…run…fast" Brendan said panting "or maybe you're just too slow" she replied giving him a quick smile. Brendan could only smile back at her comment "well, ladies first" he said opening the door for May.

"Such a gentlemen" she said as she entered the pokemon center.

"Why hello, how may I help you two?" Nurse Joy greeted the duo smiling.

"Our pokemon our a little roughed up from a battle we had earlier, may you please heal them for us Nurse Joy" May asked politely handing Nurse Joy her and Brendan's pokeballs.

"Of course, you two just sit tight I'll have your pokemon healed in no time!" Nurse Joy said as she placed the pokeballs on some sort of pokemon healing machine.

May and Brendan sat down on a bench.

"So May, are you nervous about your first gym battle?" Brendan asked.

"Yeah I'm nervous, especially since I'll be going up against my dad" May replied. "I'm sure you'll do fine" Brendan replied smiling.

"Thanks Brendan" May replied "besides I'll have you cheering for me on the sidelines."

"Yeah…about that" Brendan said looking at the floor.

"What about that?" May asked "you are going to cheer for me right?"

"Well…."

"May, Brendan you're pokemon are fully healed!" Nurse Joy proclaimed. The two trainers got up to pick up their pokemon "thank you Nurse Joy" they both said as they exited the pokemon center.

"So Brendan what did you mean back in there?" May asked.

"Well May, I really do want to be by your side and cheer you on, but I promised my dad I would work on the pokedex so that's my top priority." Brendan said "I'm going back to Route 102 to document the pokemon there."

"But…" May started "look May, I'm sure you'll do fine, I'll catch up with you when I'm done" he said sensing May's disappointment.

"Okay, I understand" May said with a fake smile covering up her feeling of disappointment "I'll go on ahead, good luck on Route 102."

"Thanks for being so understanding May, you sure you're okay with this?" he asked

"Of course, I'm a big girl I can handle being on my own" she lied.

"Well see you May, and good luck on your gym battle!" Brendan said as he headed toward Route 102 "thanks, I'll see you soon!" she replied waving too him.

May stood and watched as he disappeared from her sight and let out a deep sigh.

May walked around Petalburg until she finally found the Petalburg Gym. May entered the gym.

"Hi dad!" May said running up to Norman to give him a hug

"Honey! I'm so glad to see you!" Norman cried hugging her back. "I'm happy to see you too dad!" she replied.

"My my, I can't believe you came to Petalburg all by yourself" Norman said smiling, "well I didn't get here by myself, I had my pokemon…and Brendan" May replied.

"Oh, hey where is Brendan?" Norman asked looking over May's shoulder.

"Oh, he's on Route 102 documenting pokemon with his pokedex" May informed her father.

"Oh, I thought you two were going to travel together" Norman replied "we will…at times…I guess" May answered with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"So May how have you and your Torchic been?" Norman asked oblivious to the sadness in May's voice.

"Oh we've been doing great; we've even made a new friend!" May proclaimed.

"Really, why don't you show me?" Norman said anxiously.

"Okay, come on out Wurmple!" May said releasing her bug pokemon.

"Wurmple" it grumbled glaring daggers at May. "It seems…nice" Norman said looking at the pissed off Wurmple.

"Y-yeah it seems like he still has getting used to being a trainers pokemon" May stammered "l-let's just return him to the pokeball" she said recalling the mad pokemon back into her pokeball.

"So, May what are you doing at the gym? Not that I don't want to see you" Norman chuckled.

"Well-"May started, but was quickly interrupted by the gym doors flying open, and the emergence of a frail green haired boy. The boy walked toward May and Norman looking toward the floor the entire time.

"Um….I….I'd like to get a pokemon please…" the boy said softly. May and Norman both looked at him puzzled.

"Who are- Oh! You must be Wally" Norman exclaimed. "May this is Wally, I know his father" Norman informed May.

"Hello Wally!" May said joyfully holding out her hand. "Hi" Wally said softly shaking her hand.

"So Wally, you're here to catch your first pokemon right?" Norman asked.

"Right" Wally replied meekly "I'm going to stay with my relatives in Verdanturf Town. I thought I'd be lonely by myself, so I wanted to take a pokemon along. But I never caught a pokemon before. I don't know how…"

"I see…." Norman said rubbing his chin "I know! I'll lend you my Zigzagoon" Norman said handing Wally a pokeball, and then turned toward May "May why don't you go help Wally catch his first pokemon, since you have experience."

"Alright, let's go Wally" May said to the frail boy.

"Would you really come with me?" Wally exclaimed smiling. "Sure why not, I'm sure the two of us can find a really dope pokemon for you" she replied as the two exited the gym and headed toward Route 102.

"So May, are you a really experienced pokemon trainer?" Wally asked May as the two entered the lush greenery of Route 102.

"Well…no, I just started my journey yesterday" she informed him "I actually use to be scared of pokemon."

"Oh" Wally muttered.

Suddenly May heard rustling; she immediately spun around to face a patch of tall grass. "What was that?!" Wally exclaimed scared.

"I'm pretty sure it's a pokemon, come on let's go catch it!" she whispered back heading into the tall patch of grass. "O-okay" Wally replied, reluctantly following her into the waist high grass.

"I know it's here somewhere" May mumbled to herself looking for any sign of the pokemon.

_Rustle rustle_

May turned toward the rustling once more.

"There it is!" she exclaimed heading toward the source of the disturbance with Wally following behind her.

May pushed away the blades of grass revealing a small clear patch with a small pokemon with a green head with a red horn growth coming out of it, and a gown like growth covering its legs.

"Wow I've never seen that pokemon before!" May exclaimed pulling out her pokedex.

"Ralts the feeling pokemon" the automated voice said "It uses the horn on its head to sense human emotions. It hides if it senses hostility."

"It's so cute!" May exclaimed as she turned toward Wally "go on, release the pokemon my dad lent you."

"Oh alright, let me just-"before Wally could finish the little Ralts walked over towards him "Ralts!" it exclaimed happily.

"Hi there…" Wally muttered nervously "what do I do now?" he whispered to May. "I don't think you have to do anything, I think that Ralts really likes you" she said smiling.

Wally knelt down to face the Ralts "do you really like me?" he asked. "Ralts!" it cried nodding.

"Do you want to come with me to Verdanturf Town?" he asked.

"Ralts" is proclaimed happily jumping into the sickly boy's arms.

"Well I think that is a definite yes" May said smiling. "Yeah, I think so too!" Wally laughed as he put the Ralts down.

"Time to go into the pokeball" he said as he pulled out an empty pokeball. "Ralts!" it said once more with a big smile as it was enveloped by the pokeball.

"Wow, my first pokemon!" Wally proclaimed happily holding the pokeball above him in triumph.

"Yeah, and you did it without even having to battle it." May said "I think you could befriend any pokemon."

"You really think so?" he asked "of course, well I think we should start heading back" May suggested.

"You're right; oh I can't wait to get back to show my dad my new pokemon!" Wally exclaimed as the two headed back toward Petalburg. It didn't take long for the two teens to arrive back to Petalburg; it took about 17 minutes or so.

"So how did it go?" Norman asked as May and Wally entered the gym.

"I got it!" Wally proclaimed "and he didn't even have to battle it, it walked right up to him!" May added.

"Well I guess you really didn't need to borrow my pokemon after all" Norman said smiling.

"I guess not, thanks anyways" Wally said handing Norman his pokemon back.

"Well I have to go, thank you Mr. Maple, and thank you May!" Wally said joyfully as he started exiting the gym

"Bye Wally, be safe!" May waved to him as he left.

"Nice kid, I don't know if it's just me, but Wally seemed much livelier with his new pokemon then he was before" Norman inquired.

"He sure did, I think he'll make a great trainer" May replied.

"So May, before Wally came I asked you why you came to my gym, so….why did you come?" Norman asked.

May took a deep breath "dad I've decided I want to challenge the Pokemon League, so I will face down all the gyms of the Hoenn region to become the Hoenn region champion…starting with you dad."

"M-May, I can't believe it…you're following in your father's footsteps! Oh I'm so proud, but May I must tell you…"

"What is it dad?" May asked. "You need to have at least three pokemon for us to have an official Pokemon League match" Norman informed her. "Oh…" May said embarrassed "but we can have an unofficial match as father and daughter!" "Okay!" May exclaimed beaming.

"But I must warn you May, I may be your father but I'm also a trainer. I won't go easy on you, and I expect you to do the same for me, no mercy."

"Okay dad, I'll give it all I got!" May said as she pulled out her pokeball "go Torchic!" May cried releasing her fire type from the confines of its pokeball. "Torchic!" it chirped ready to battle.

"Alrighty then, go Vigoroth!" Norman cried throwing his pokeball.

Out of it came a swirling red mist that composed itself into a pokemon with mostly white fur on its body with the exception of a large red tuft of fur in between its eyes. It had a pair of large claws on its hands. It resembled a mix of a sloth and a monkey. "Vigoroth!" it roared menacingly.

"W-what's that?!" May stammered pulling out her pokedex

"Vigoroth the wild monkey pokemon" the automated voice informed "It can't keep still because its blood boils with energy. It runs through fields and mountains all day to calm itself. If it doesn't, it can't sleep at night."

"That looks like one tough mother" May thought to herself watching the Vigoroth bursting with energy.

"Alright May, make your first move."

"Torchic use Growl!" May instructed. Torchic let out a low guttural growl, lowering the menacing pokemon's attack.

"Use Slash Vigoroth!"

"Roth!" it cried bearing down on Torchic with its claws extended.

"Tor!" Torchic cried as the Vigoroth slashed it with impressive power.

"Torchic are you okay!" May cried. "Torchic" it nodded getting back onto its feet.

"Alright Torchic, let's give them a taste of our power, use Ember Torchic!" Torchic inhaled deeply "Tor-chic!" it cried as it exhaled, spewing a swarm of fiery projectiles at Vigoroth.

"Vigoroth use endure!" Vigoroth tightened all its muscles as the projectiles bombarded him. Vigoroth cringed in pain, but survived the attack.

"Torchic use Peck now!" Torchic sprinted toward Vigoroth slamming its beak upon the larger stronger pokemon.

"Counter now!" Vigoroth reeling from the peck suddenly sprung back towards Torchic, its hands balled up in a fist.

"Dodge Torchic!" May yelled, but it was too late. Vigoroth had landed the blow. Torchic landed at May's feet knocked out.

"Oh, no Torchic!" May cried picking up the defeated fire type. "Return" she said recalling Torchic "get some rest, you deserve it."

"Return Vigoroth" Norman said recalling the powerful Normal type.

"Well May I got to say, you're pretty good" Norman complimented "you have a strategy, weaken the opposing pokemon and then attack, but it seems you are a little too reckless in your attack. You sent Torchic at my pokemon not knowing what defensive move I had."

"Whoops" May said blushing.

"But that is understandable, you're still a beginner. I see a lot of potential in you honey but you still have ways to go."

"Ways is an understatement" May said berating herself.

"Don't bring yourself down, listen if you want to improve your skills as a trainer I suggest you head to Rustboro City and challenge the gym leader. Once you do that, battle other gyms across Hoenn, and one day we'll have our rematch."

"I will dad, and when I come back I'll be the victor!" May proclaimed.

"We will see, but for the time being go to Rustboro and hone your skills"

"Okay dad" May said as she started toward the gym door "and be careful May, I don't want anything happening to you."

May turned around and nodded "I will, goodbye dad!" May said smiling as she exited the gym.

"Kids grow up so fast" Norman muttered to himself smiling.

"Your pokemon are fully healed May" Nurse Joy said smiling.

"Thank you, well I guess I should get some sleep" May said putting her pokeballs on her belt.

"Of course, the guest rooms are right through that door" Nurse Joy said pointing towards a door on the right side of the door

"Thank you ma'am" May said as she walked towards the door and entered the guest room.

She took off her casual attire and put on her nightgown, and then she plopped down on her bed

"Well today certainly was an interesting day, a met a new friend and saw some new pokemon…" she thought to herself "and got my ass handed to me by my dad." May shook her head "don't dwell on the past May, all that matters is the future- well I guess the past matters too since you need a past for a future… Wait what was I thinking about? Oh that's right! Getting my butt kicked, well at least I did my best." May thought trying to comfort herself. "Well I should go to sleep if I want to wake up early to head to Rustboro…"

May closed her eyes. "…I wonder how Wally's doing…I can't wait to challenge the gym in Rustboro!...Damnit I can't fall asleep! Maybe I should count Mareep, 1…2…3…4…5 aw this isn't working…I wish Brendan was here."

May sighed "Mmmmm Brendan so nice, so funny…so…handsome…" May closed her eyes and fell asleep.

**So did you readers like this chapter? I hope you did, and remember to review. Thanks for reading!**


	8. Heading to Rustboro-Team Aqua Appears

Chapter 7: Heading to Rustboro-Team Aqua Appears!

'_Ring, Ring'_

May's eyes slowly fluttered open

'_Ring, Ring'_

"Oh shut up…" May said slamming her hand down upon the blaring alarm clock. She got up from her bed and went to the bathroom to shower and brush her teeth. When she was done, she put on her clothes, tied her green bandanna, and put on her fanny pack. "Time to get going" she muttered kissing the pendant depicting Rayquaza around her neck.

"Goodbye Nurse Joy, and thanks for letting me stay in the guest room" May said thankfully as she started to exit the Pokemon Center. "Anytime, stay safe!" Nurse Joy replied waving. The morning sun shone down unto May's face.

"That's pretty bright!" she giggled blocking the light with her gloved hand. May looked down the street hoping to see Brendan, she only saw busy people walking on the sidewalks and cars zipping through the streets. "Guess he's still on Route 102…" she sighed as she started towards Route 104.

May walked down the streets of Petalburg passing by many people. She stopped when she reached a building with a blue roof. "Galipe's Pokemart" she said to herself reading the sign on the complex.

'_Ring, Ring'_

A bell connected to the door rang as May entered the store. "Hello" said the store clerk smiling at May "what can I do for you?" "Oh I'm just browsing" she replied looking through the aisles filled with pokemon medicine and merchandise. A jar with art nouveau motifs decorating it caught May's eyes.

"What's this?" May muttered. "Poke Snacks" the label read and underneath it "your Pokémon's running on empty? Reinvigorate them with our patented vitamin rich poke snacks (chocolate flavored)"

"That's pokemon food" the clerk said "pokemon love it and it doesn't cost much."

"How much does it cost?"

"500 pokedollars"

"That's pretty steep, but I think I have enough in the budget for it" May said handing the clerk the money. "Thank you, will that be all ma'am?" "Yes, have a good day" May said as she exited the store and back out into the sun bathed city.

"Let's see, where is Route 104?" May said peering across the sea of pedestrians looking for a sign that will point her to her destination.

"There it is!" she exclaimed spotting a sign that pointed toward Route 104. "I better start hauling ass" she said jogging in the direction of the sign.

May finally reached the edge of Petalburg City and entered Route 104. The path was linear, nothing out of the ordinary until it opened up revealing it was on a Cliffside overlooking a beautiful beach.

"Wow!" May exclaimed as the noon sun's light shone down upon the blue sea making it twinkle "Pelipper" "Wingull" cawed a group of marine pokemon overhead.

May pulled out her pokedex.

"Wingull the seagull pokemon, It makes its nest on a sheer cliff at the edge of the sea. It has trouble keeping its wings flapping in flight. Instead it soars on updrafts"

"Pelipper the water bird pokemon, It skims the tops of waves as it flies. When it spots prey, it uses its large beak to scoop up the victim with water. It protects its eggs in its beak"

"So cool!" she squealed as they passed overhead. "I think I can make ONE detour before I go to Rustboro" she said as she went down a path that led down the Cliffside and onto the beach.

The sand was soft and white; the beach was inhabited by only a few people mainly kids and a couple of fisherman. In the distance she could see a small cottage.

"Come on out!" May said releasing her two pokemon from their pokeballs. "Torchic!" Torchic chirped happily "Wurmple" the bug type grumbled. "Oh Wurmple, you're not still mad are you?" "Wurm!" it grunted refusing even to look at May. "Tor, Tor-Torchic" the little fire type chirped trying to befriend the angry Wurmple.

"Wurm!" it cried shooting a String Shot at Torchic's face causing Torchic to fall over backward. "Hey leave Torchic alone!" May yelled removing the fibers from Torchic's face. "Wurm" it chuckled at May and Torchic.

"Alright Wurmple, I've had enough of your crap! You are my pokemon, you'll always be MY pokemon whether you like it or not! So you have two options. Number 1 you can cut the crap and respect Torchic and I as your partners, or option 2, you could continue being a prick" The Wurmple stood watching intently as May continued "but let me tell you this, if you choose the 2nd option you'll only be hurting yourself because you're gonna be dealing with me throughout this whole journey, so what will it be? Option 1 or option 2?"

Wurmple glared at May as she glared right back at him. Wurmple wanted to stare her down, but she wasn't budging. "Wurm" Wurmple said breaking his gaze away from May's in defeat, he knew she meant business.

"So you're picking option 1?" May asked.

"Wurm" Wurmlpe nodded.

"Good, look just give me a chance okay. I'm sure the more time we spend together the more you'll grow to like me, besides I like you"

The Wurmple stood silent. "Anyways I brought you guys out so we can have a nice little picnic at the beach"

"Tor!" the Torchic chirped happily

"Wurmple" Wurmple said softly.

"Let me get out your bowls…" May said pulling two white bowls from her fanny pack "and the poke snacks I bought earlier…" May pulled out the art nouveau decorated poke snack jar, opened it and poured the contents evenly into the two bowls "…and there a yummy lunch, dig in guys they're chocolate flavored!" she said joyfully.

The two pokemon began to happily dig into their meal as May sat and watched the waves crash onto the shore as the sunlight made the waves sparkle and the sea breeze made her bangs flutter. She sighed "Hoenn is so beautiful."

"Excuse me"

"Wha-oh hello" May said looking up to see a husky man with sunglasses, a haiiwan t-shirt, and khaki shorts. "Let me guess, from the way you're dressed, are you a pokemon trainer?" the man asked.

"Yes, yes I-"

"Well maybe not. Your clothes aren't all that dirty, you're probably just an ordinary kid" the man interrupted.

"Wha-hey I'am a trainer! Are you blind or something? Do you not see my pokemon eating? They are literally right next to me!" May exclaimed offended.

"Well I guess you are just a rookie trainer. I'm roaming Hoenn in search of talented trainers, I'm sorry to have taken your time" and with that the man walked away.

May stood up "What the hell is your problem ese! Disrespecting like that, who the hell do you think you are? You're gonna be taking those words back when all of Hoenn refers to me as Champion May! You hear me! C-H-A-M-P-I-O-N MAY!" she yelled, but the man apparently did not hear May continued to walk away.

"Arrgg!" May grunted as she fell to her knees and looked toward her frightened pokemon. "I-I'm sorry about that" she apologized "That man just got under my skin, I sorry if I scared you. I'll try not to have an outburst like that again." Torchic nodded while Wurmple stood silent.

"C'mon lets head to Rustboro" she said as she recalled her pokemon back into their respective pokeballs, as placed the empty bowls back into her fanny pack and started down Route 104.

May climbed up the cliff once more and followed the path on Route 104. The path winded down until it stopped at the edge of a dense forest.

"Is this part of Route 104?" May thought as she spotted a sign. "Petalburg Forest, Route 104 continues past the forest" she read. "Well looks like I have to go through the spooky dark forest" May said nervously rubbing her Rayquaza pendant. "Time to nut up or shut up" she said entering the forest.

The forest was dark and dense. The path was jagged and uneven, the call of unseen wild pokemon added to the eerie feel of the gothic forest.

"Why is it so dark? It's noon! The sun was high up in the sky!" May said making conversation with herself to lessen tense mood.

May continued to walk through the forest, able to see only by the small accents of sunlight that somehow made their way through the dense canopy.

"Shroomish! Shroomish come on out!" came a voice down the path. May walked toward the voice. She was greeted with the sight of a man in an olive green business suit hunched over holding a brown box.

"Excuse me sir, may I ask what you are doing?" May asked the man confused.

"Have you seen the pokemon Shroomish, I really love that pokemon" the man replied

"Wha- N-no I haven't, but that still doesn't answer-" "There you are" interrupted another voice.

Out of the darkness came a menacing figure with a blue bandanna, a striped shirt, and blue pants "I was gonna wait to ambush you on Route 104, but no you had to waste my time taking your sweet ass time in this god-forsaken forest! So hand over that box NOW" the menacing man yelled taking a step toward the man holding the box against his chest. "N-no I can't let you do that" he turned too May "please, you have to do something!"

"Don't even think about it little girl!" The man yelled turning toward May.

"I'm not going to just stand by and watch you bust a jack move on this poor guy!" May protested

"I'm only gonna tell you this once you little brat, you don't cross Team Aqua unless you're ready to deal with the consequences!" He yelled pulling out a pokeball.

"Oh I'm so scarred" May said sarcastically "please I've grown up with punks like you, bunch of chavallas in matching colors!" she mocked.

"I warned you! Go Poochyena!" the man cried releasing a gray dog like pokemon from his pokeball.

May pulled out her pokedex.

"Poochyena the bite pokemon, It savagely threatens foes with bared fangs. It chases after fleeing targets tenaciously. It turns tail and runs, however, if the foe strikes back."

"A pokedex huh" the man said "I think I'll steal that too!"

"That's if you win, Go Tor..." May hesitated "I think I'll give Wurmple a shot at this" she thought to herself. May pulled out the pokeball containing Wurmple "go Wurmple!" she cried releasing her bug type.

"Alright little brat, get ready for the most embarrassing ass kicking you'll ever have! Poochyena use Bite!" The Poochyena charged at Wurmple, fangs bared.

"Wurmple use String Shot on Poochyena's mouth!" "Wurm!" it cried releasing sticky fibers that wrapped around Poochyena's mouth.

"Oh no Poochyena! C'mon you can break outta that!" the Team Aqua grunt yelled.

"Pooch!" the little gray dog yelped using its jaw muscles to rip through the fibers.

"Poison Sting now!" May yelled. "Wurm-ple!" the little bug cried shooting poison darts at the dark type dog.

"Pooch!" it cried in pain as the darts hit their mark.

Poochyena in its rage finally ripped through the fiber on its mouth. "Alright Poochyena! Now use Bite again!"

The Poochyena once again charged at the Wurmple, only this time it clamped its jaws down onto Wurmple.

"Wurm!" it cried in pain as the jaws dug into its body. "Oh no! Hang in there Wurmple!" May cried.

"Throw him Poochyena!" the grunt yelled.

Poochyena spun the Wurmple around its head, and opened its mouth releasing Wurmple, sending it skidding across the ground.

"C'mon Wurmple you can pull through!" May cheered.

"Let's end this Tackle now!" the grunt yelled. The dark type started its charge

"You do the same, use Tackle Wurmple!" Wurmple charged at the Poochyena.

The two pokemon collided sending each other flying back toward their trainers.

"Oh no Wurmple!" May cried as she ran up to the hurt bug type.

"Wurm…" it stammered rolling back onto its ten feet.

"Get up Poochyena!" the grunt yelled

"Pooch…" the Poochyena stammered struggling back onto its feet, but fell back down knocked out.

"Wha-No way! I lost!" the Team Aqua grunt cried in disbelief.

"We did it! You did great Wurmple!" May proclaimed hugging her pokemon "Wurm!" it replied happily. "Get some rest, you deserve it!" she said recalling her pokemon.

"But how? How could some kid beat me?" the grunt said still in disbelief.

"Poison Sting poisoned your Poochyena, it slowly dwindled its health until it could no longer fight" May informed him.

"Grrrrr pokemon or not I'm taking that box, and your pokedex too!" The grunt yelled taking a step toward May and the olive suit man.

"You better back off, cause if you come any closer I'm throwing a putaso to your jaw" May warned

"Oh shut up little girl!" the grunt said approaching May and the olive suit man.

BAM!

May swung her fist hitting the grunt squarely in the jaw causing him to fall to the ground. "Owwww, you got quite a heavy hand you little brat" the grunt said getting up and rubbing his jaw. "This isn't the last you've seen of Team Aqua!" the grunt cried as he ran out down the path.

"Oh thank you, thank you!" the olive suit man cried shaking May's hand "you're a hero!"

"Oh I was just in the right place at the right time" May said modestly

"Still, you deserve a reward" the man said pulling out a blue pokeball with re protrusions on its sides "here take it."

"Thank you, what is it?" May asked. "It's a Great Ball. It's like a pokeball, except it has a higher catch rate" he informed her looking at his watch "Oh no, look at the time! I'm sorry to leave so suddenly, but I'm late! See you, and thanks again!" the man waved as he ran down the path. "Nice" May said observing the ball, then placing it in here fanny pack.

May continued through Petalburg Forest until she saw an opening in the forest. "Finally" May exclaimed as she ran toward the opening. Once again she was on Route 104. May peered at a sign on the path "Rustboro up ahead" May read "I'm almost there! Look out Rustboro because here I come!" May proclaimed as she continued down Route 104.


	9. Rustboro City Showdown

Chapter 8: Rustboro City Showdown

"So you're clear on what you are to do?" Jonathan asked a man in dark military fatigues, a black beret, and a symbol of a heart with the letters HFHSS encased in the heart. The symbol was placed on the shoulders of the uniform.

"Y-yes sir, you can count on me sir" the man said bluntly turning to leave.

"And Miklo" Jonathan said grasping the collar on his uniform spinning him around to face him once more.

"Do not fail me" he said sternly looking past Admin Miklo's eyes and into his soul "do not fail me."

"Y-yes sir, I won't."

**Back To May**

"Wow I can see Rustboro from here!" May exclaimed.

May stood on a bridge on Route 104 that led to Rustboro. Underneath her the blue waves of the river flowed ever so calmly. May peered into the river to see her joyful reflection staring back at her.

"Magikarp!" yelped a red fish pokemon as it disturbed the water and distorted her reflection. May giggled at her distorted image in the clear water. May looked away and started down the bridge toward Rustboro.

"Wow this city is more beautiful than Goldenrod!" May proclaimed smiling "and bigger too!"

May walked down the streets looking for the Rustboro City Pokemon Center. She was lucky enough to find a map of the city complete with a legend.

"So the Pokemon Center's here…oh and the gym's here! Great now I know where to go!" May said as she started toward the pokemon center.

"Hmmm I think I should have checked the legend to see if there's a police station around here to report what happened in Petalburg Forest" May pondered as she walked down the sidewalk "or maybe not, if I snitched to the police I'd be nothing but a no good chivato…"

BAM

"Oww, oh I'm so sorry!" May apologized for she had bumped into a man while she was lost in thought.

"Oh it's no problem" the man said turning toward May.

When May saw who it was she immediately frowned "oh it's you…" May said angrily

"Have we met?" the man asked confused

"Oh don't give me that, I know you know me!" May yelled her fists clenched "remember on the beach 'I'm looking for talented trainers sorry to have wasted your time' what the hell is up with that!?"

"L-look I didn't mean it like-""You've got some nerve Mr. Disrespectful!" May interrupted jabbing her index finger into the man's flabby chest.

"Hey watch it!" the man said backing away from May. "Look I'm sorry if I offended you in any way, it was not my intention." May crossed her arms and looked at him sternly.

"I'm really sorry, look let me introduce myself. My name's Scott" he said holding out his hand. "May Maple" May replied shaking his hand, her stern expression not leaving her face

"I've been travelling everywhere in search of outstanding trainers. More specifically I'm looking for pokemon battle experts. I assume that you are aiming to be one if I offended you so."

May nodded

"So I'll give you a chance, I'll be keeping an eye out for you, and please forgive me, I really did not mean to offend you."

"Oh it's alright" May replied smiling.

"Great! Listen May, I must go but before I do I suggest you go challenge the gym here."

"I was" May replied

"Oh, well before you do I recommend heading to the Rustboro Trainer's school to learn more about the art of pokemon battling, you now to give you that extra edge."

"Thanks Scott I will!" May said beaming.

"No problem May I'll be seeing you, and good luck!" and with that Scott walked away disappearing into the sea of pedestrians.

"The Rustboro Trainer School huh, I think I'll swing by there and learn a few things" May said to herself "excuse me sir" May said to a passing pedestrian.

"Yes, how may I help you?"

"Sir can you please point me towards the Trainer's School" May asked politely.

"Of course, just go down the direction you were heading and take a right on the corner of the street, you won't miss it" the man informed May. "Thank you very much!" May said gratefully.

"No problem" the man said walking away.

"Off to the Trainer's School!" May thought as she walked down the street to the Trainer's School. May followed the man's instructions and soon found the Trainer's School and entered.

Inside a male teacher lectured a group of students studying intently. "Hello young lady, may I help you?" the teacher asked. "Ummm I'm here to learn a little about battling before I go up against the gym." Murmurs swept through the class.

"Who does she think she is?!"

"Roxanne's gonna make mince meat outta her!" whispered the kids amongst themselves.

"Everyone settle down" the teacher said raising his voice. "Take a seat young lady" he said warmly, handing her a textbook "you can study here for as long as you want."

"Thank you sir" May said smiling. She opened the book and started to study.

"Pokemon types…" she started engrossed in the book.

1 Hour Later

"…pokemon attacks can be categorized into three types: Physical, special, and status…"

"Alright everyone it is time to go!" the teacher said with a booming voice.

The sounds of chairs screeching on the classroom floor broke May away from the textbook. "Young lady are you ready?" the teacher asked smiling.

"Oh yes, thank you for allowing me to study in your class sir" May thanked.

"It was my pleasure; I hope you do well in your gym battle!"

May nodded and headed outside.

"Hey look, it's the girl that's gonna challenge Roxanne!" a boy yelled.

"You're gonna lose!"

"You're gonna lose!"

The kids chanted laughing and mocking May.

"Don't humor them May, just head to the gym" May told herself as she ignored the crowd, and walked to the gym

"You Suck!"

"You're Whack!"

"Whack!"

"Whack!"

"Whack!" They chanted. They continued until May entered the gym, even then May could still hear the chanting faintly outside.

Inside it was dark, a lone light floated above her illuminating a small circular patch in which May was standing in.

"Hello" she called out "anybody in here!?"

"I'm here to challenge your gym!" she called out once more.

Suddenly the whole room illuminated revealing a huge open space, in the middle a patch of dirt in which pokemon could battle. Om the opposite side of the battlefield stood a young lady about the same age as May. She wore a dark blue school dress, as well as dark pink leggings. Her hair was made into two pigtails held together by a pink bun on the back of her head.

"Greetings challenger, my name is-hold on" the girl walked past May and towards the gym door. She opened it to meet the berating mob of children outside.

"Give it a rest!" she yelled. The kids immediately grew silent.

The girl closed the door. "Thanks" May said, "no problem" the girl replied "I'm sorry about that, they can be real handful."

"Ahem" the girl cleared her throat "my name is Roxanne, I'm the gym leader here!" she proclaimed Hands at her hips and her chest held high.

"Nice to meet you Roxanne, My name's May" May replied holding out her hand.

"It's nice to meet you to May" Roxanne said shaking her hand "so you want to challenge my gym huh"

"Yes, I aim to defeat all the gyms in Hoenn to challenge the pokemon league" May replied.

"Is that so" Roxanne replied "am I the first gym you have challenged?"

"Well no…not exactly" May started "I challenged the gym in Petalburg-""Oh the one that just opened up!" Roxanne interrupted. "Yeah that one, but I didn't have enough pokemon so dad-""Wait wait, your dad is the gym leader in Petalburg!?" Roxanne interrupted once more. "Yeah that's my dad" May chuckled. "Cool! I guess you must be a pretty good trainer if you're a gym leader's daughter…alright I'll battle you, It'll be a great test of the skills I learned in trainer's school to battle the daughter of a fellow gym leader!"

"Really you'll battle me!" May beamed.

"Of course!-wait, how many pokemon do you have?" Roxanne asked.

"Only two…" May answered rather meekly

"That's great! The gym takes 2 vs. 2 battles"

"Alright!" May exclaimed "This is gonna be my first official gym match!"

"Are you ready?" Roxanne asked.

"Can you tell me the rules of your gym?" May asked.

"Of course, I almost forgot!" Roxanne said slapping her forehead. "We'll both use two pokemon, switch ins are allowed, potions of any kind are not. Whoever knocks out all of the opposing trainer's pokemon wins, any questions?"

"No, I'm ready!" May said

"Okay!" Roxanne proclaimed pulling out a pokeball "but be warned I graduated from the trainer's school with top honors, I'm not to be trifled with!"

"I respect you Roxanne, but I'm no pushover!" May said pulling out her pokeball "Go Wurmple!"

Out of May's pokeball came a swirling red mist that composed itself into the pokemon Wurmple.

"Wurm!" it cried.

"A bug type huh, let's see how it fares when confronted with the sheer power of the rock types!"

"Oh no" May thought "She's a rock type leader! And I have two pokemon weak to rock types; I'm at a huge disadvantage!"

"Go Geodude!" Roxanne yelled throwing her pokeball. Out of the ball came a rugged rock pokemon. It had a head and two arms that protruded from the sides of the head, where the ears should have been.

"Geodude!" it roared raising its fists in the air. "Alright challenger make your move!"

"Fine by me! Use Poison Sting!" May yelled

Wurmple shot out a flurry of poisonous darts at Geodude, but they bounced off the rock type dealing virtually no damage.

(May's Inner Thoughts) "Damn I forgot poison is weak against rock!" (End of Inner Thoughts)

"Alright give them a taste of our power with Rock Throw!" Roxanne yelled.

"Geo!" Geodude grunted pulling a rock from the ground and heaving it at Wurmple.

"Dodge it Wurmple!"

Wurmple jumped away, narrowly evading the rock.

(May's Inner Thoughts) "I have no chance attacking directly; I'm going to have disable it if I want a chance at defeating it!" (End of Inner Thoughts)

"Use Rock Throw again Geodude!"

Geodude once again grabbed a rock from the ground and flung it towards Wurmple.

(May's Inner Thoughts) "Here's my chance!" (End of Inner Thoughts)

"Wurmple catch it with String Shot!"

"Wurm!" it cried shooting a stream of sticky fibers that caught the rock in midair.

"Spin it, then fling it at Geodude!" May instructed.

The Wurmple swung the rock over its head, gaining speed with every revolution, and then it released it. The thread propelled by the rock wrapped around Geodude tightly disabling its arms.

"Alright!" May proclaimed.

"It's not over yet!" Roxanne yelled "Use Rollout!"

The Geodude entangled in the threads rolled on itself with its spherical body. It tumbled toward Wurmple with tremendous speed.

"Wurm!" Wurmple cried as Geodude struck it. Wurmple was sent flying towards May's feet knocked out.

"W-Wurmple…" May stuttered.

"Send out your next pokemon" Roxanne said.

"Return Wurmple!" May said recalling the defeated bug type. "H-how? In one blow…"

"Rollout is a rock type move so it's super effective against bug types like Wurmple" Roxanne informed May.

"Oh yeah, you're right" May said remembering what she learned in the textbook. "Alright let's go Torchic!" She yelled releasing her chick pokemon.

"Torchic!" it chirped ruffling its feathers, ready to battle.

"Rollout again Geodude!"

The rock pokemon rolled toward Torchic, a cloud of dust trailing behind it.

"Dodge and use Scratch Torchic!"

Torchic effortlessly dodged the Geodude and racked it with its sharp talons. Geodude seemed unaffected.

(May's Inner Thoughts) "No matter what I do, it's not affecting Geodude!" (End of Inner Thoughts)

"Alright Geodude you've been tangled in that crap long enough, rip through it!"

"Geo…" it muttered using every fiber in its being to try and rip through Wurmple's threads.

(May's Inner Thoughts) "I know! Ember! It has STAB (same type attack bonus) it should at least hurt Geodude, even if it does resist fire" (End of Inner Thoughts)

"Use Ember Torchic!" May yelled.

"Tor…" the little fire type inhaled deeply "…chic!" it exhaled firing a swarm of fire towards Geodude.

"Geo!" it cried cringing in pain. The Ember had clearly injuried it, but it also burned off the String Shot.

(May's Inner Thoughts) "Uh oh" (End of Inner Thoughts)

"Geodude use Rock Tomb!"

"Geo!" it yelled slamming its fist unto the ground causing three big rocks to pop out from the ground. One behind Torchic, the other two on Torchic's sides so it could not escape.

"Geodude!" it cried heaving itself at Torchic.

CRASH

Geodude collided with the Torchic crushing it between the rocks. A large cloud of dust hid the two pokemon.

When the dust cleared, it revealed a knocked out Torchic.

"Oh no Torchic!" May cried running over towards the little Torchic, picking it up to hold it in her arms.

"I-I'm so sorry Torchic…" May said embracing her defeated fire type.

"Don't be too down May" Roxanne said walking over toward her "you did your best."

"Return Torchic" May said recalling Torchic back into its pokeball. "I guess my best wasn't good enough."

"Maybe next time May" Roxanne said holding out her hand "it was a good match"

"Thanks" May said meekly, shaking Roxanne's hand "I'm grateful for the opportunity to battle you" and with that May exited the building. Outside to greet her; the mob of kids.

"You lost didn't you?"

May hid her face with her gloved hand.

"Ha ha you did lose! Loser!"

May walked through the jeering crowd still hiding her face and headed towards the pokemon center.

"Loser!"

"Loser!"

"Loser!" they chanted.

"They're right" May thought to herself. "You are a loser, a mediocre excuse of a pokemon trainer" A lone tear fell from her eye.

"Pathetic"

She continued to berate herself all the way to the pokemon center, the crowd still jeering in her ears.

The walk of shame.


	10. Get Back on the Saddle

**I want to thank everybody that has read my story, and those who have left reviews. It's really uplifting to know people are enjoying your story, so I just wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you. Without further adieu I present chapter 9. I hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 9: Get Back on the Saddle

The Rustboro City Pokemon Center was alive with young trainers telling each other about their exploits and victories. All but a lone figure situated in the corner of the center, sitting at a table with her face in her arms feeling sorry for herself.

"I can't do anything right" the girl thought to herself. "I can't beat my dad, Brendan, or Roxanne. Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a trainer."

"May your pokemon are fully healed!" Nurse Joy called out.

May still sulking, picked herself up from the table and walked toward the pokemon center's counter.

"Here you go!" Nurse Joy said handing May her two pokeballs.

"Thank you" May said sadly; placing the two pokeballs on her belt.

"I hope to see you again!" Nurse Joy happily exclaimed. May nodded and exited the center, out to Rustboro City, the sun bathed buildings towering above her like the dreams of her becoming champion, something unreachable. May looked at the two pokeballs on her belt, they glistened in the sunlight.

"They deserve a much better trainer then me" She muttered "I'm heading home." May started down the street toward Route 104 to head home. "I was stupid to think I had what it took to challenge the pokemon league, let alone a god damn gym."

"Hello again young lady"

"Wha-" May spun around. "Oh hello sir, nice to see you again" May said greeting the teacher who let her study in the Trainer's School.

"So young lady how did your gym battle go?" the teacher asked.

"Not well" May replied looking down in shame.

"I'm sorry to hear that" the teacher said "but there's always next time, you are planning on challenging the gym again right?"

"Well…"

"Because you can't let one loss get you down, you've got to keep going. If you give up now, you're going to be wondering for the rest of your life what it would've been like if you kept going. Believe me wondering what could have been can be one of the most painful feelings in the world. Don't let it happen to you. Well I have to go young lady, I hope you take my words to heart, farewell" and with that the teacher walked away.

'_I know you got what it takes'_ Brendan's words entered her head.

She grasped her pendant and rubbed it gently. "He's right" May told herself "I can't let this loss get in the way of my dreams, I said it myself 'don't dwell in the past' well I won't!" May pulled her two pokeballs from her belt "We're going to train and better ourselves! Then I'm challenging that gym again!"

"But before that I better go buy some supplies" May said as she went to the nearest pokemart. 20 minutes in the pokemart, and she was ready to get going.

May reached the northeast outskirts of the city. "Route 116" she said reading a sign "I guess I'll start training here."

Route 116 was very open. Trees surrounded the path. A large patch of trees stood in the middle of the entrance leaving a fork in the path, both were covered in tall grass. May walked down the left path.

_Rustle, Rustle_

May turned toward the patch of rustling grass.

_Rustle, Rustle_

"What's that?" May said as she ran over towards the patch of grass. May pushed away the blades of grass to reveal the culprit…

"Skitty!" it meowed

Before her stood a cute pink kitten pokemon with a tan underside and cute pink ears. It had a tail that looked like a toy for cats (you know the ones that they paw at).

"It's so cute!" May squealed as she pulled out her pokedex.

"Skitty the kitten pokemon. A Skitty's adorably cute behavior makes it highly popular. In battle, it makes its tail puff out. It threatens foes with sharp growls."

"I'm gonna catch it! Go Torchic!" May cried releasing her fire type.

"Torchic!" it chirped.

"Alright use Ember!"

Torchic released a plethora of fiery projectiles at the Skitty.

"Skitty!" it cried in pain.

"Alright now use Peck!"

Torchic ran towards the Skitty and slammed its beak onto it. Once again the Skitty cried out in pain.

"Use Peck again Torchic!"

Torchic did not move

"T-Torchic?"

Torchic did not answer. It just stared at Skitty with loving eyes.

"What's going on with Torchic?!" May asked herself aloud.

"Skitty's ability is Cute Charm, it infatuates enemy pokemon upon contact" the pokedex informed her.

"Skitty!" Skitty cried tackling Torchic. Torchic fell to the ground because of the blow, but quickly got up still beaming at the Skitty.

"C'mon Torchic snap out of it!" May yelled.

Skitty began to charge at Torchic

"Please Torchic use Ember!" May pleaded.

Torchic hearing May, shook its head breaking away from the infatuation and spewed fire at Skitty.

"Skitty!" it cried as it skidded across the ground knocked out.

"Odelay Torchic goodjob!" May said pulling out the Great ball given to her by the Devon employee in the Petalburg Forest.

"You're mine Skitty!" May yelled throwing the great ball.

The great ball opened, turning the Skitty into a red swirl of energy and was absorbed by the ball as it closed. May clenched her fists as the ball began to shake. Once, twice "c'mon" May thought to herself

_Click_

"Alright I caught a Skitty!" May proclaimed holding the captured Skitty's pokeball over her.

"Tor!" Torchic celebrated with May jumping up and down. "You did great little vato, get some rest" May said recalling Torchic. "Come on out Skitty" May released the injured Skitty from the great ball.

"Skit…" it stammered. "Hold on Skitty, let me patch you up" May said pulling out a recently bought potion from her fanny pack, and sprayed the contents onto Skitty.

"Skitty!" it meowed feeling better.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, let's see what moves you know" she said pulling out her pokedex.

"Skitty's known moves: Assist, Tackle, Growl, Attract."

Skitty!" it meowed once more jumping into May's arms, and cuddling up against May's bosom.

"My aren't you an affectionate one" May said petting Skitty gently.

After petting the cute pokemon for a few minutes, May placed the Skitty down and recalled it back into its pokeball.

"Alright time to start training!" May walked down Route 116 until she came across two trainers.

"Hello my name is Johnson!" a young short wearing boy exclaimed joyfully.

"My name's Clark" said a burly Hiker.

"Hi my name's May, I'm here to train my pokemon" she informed them.

"Well how bout we help you with that?" Clark said pulling out a pokeball "me and Johnson here, versus you."

"Fine with me, Go Skitty and Wurmple!"

"Skitty!" the cute kitten meowed. "Wurmple!" the bug type cried.

"Go Geodude!" Clark cried releasing his rock type.

"Another Geodude" May thought to herself.

"Go Shroomish!" Johnson yelled releasing a brown mushroom like pokemon with small, stout, dark green legs.

"What's that?" May said pulling out her pokedex.

"Shroomish the mushroom pokemon. It loves to eat damp, composed soil in forests. If you enter a forest after a long rain, you can see many Shroomish feasting on composed soil."

"Alright, Wurmple use String Shot on Geodude, Skitty use Growl!" Skitty let out a low Growl that took both Shroomish and Geodude by surprise. Wurmple shot a flurry of sticky threads that wrapped around Geodude.

"Oh no Geodude!" Clark cried.

"Shroomish use Absorb on Skitty!" Johnson yelled.

Shroomish focused all its energy and sucked a little of Skitty's HP.

"Wurmple use Poison Sting on Shroomish!"

"Wurm!" it cried firing poisonous darts from its mouth.

"Shroom!" Shroomish cried in pain as the darts poisoned it.

"Geodude break through those fibers!" Clark yelled.

"Skitty don't give him a chance use Attract!"

"Skitty" it purred seductively posing cutely to attract Geodude.

Geodude's eyes immediately became hearts. It stopped trying to break through the fibers, enraptured by Skitty.

"Don't worry, Shroomish will save the day!" Johnson proclaimed.

"Oh no he won't, Wurmple Tackle him!" May yelled.

Wurmple rushed the Shroomish, striking it.

"Shroom!" it cried as it skidded across the ground. It attempted to get up, but it succumbered to its poisoning.

"Oh no Shroomish!" Johnson cried "I guess it's up to you Clark."

"C'mon Geodude snap out of it!" Clark pleaded, but Geodude did not budge.

"Let's end this Wurmple, Skitty use Tackle!"

Both Wurmple and Skitty charged at the Geodude.

BAM

The combined effort of both Skitty and Wurmple sent Geodude flying back towards its trainer knocked out.

"No Geodude!" Clark cried recalling his Geodude.

"Odelay we won!" May proclaimed running toward her victorious pokemon "you both were amazing!"

"Skit, Skit" Skitty purred.

"Wurm!" Wurmple replied happily. Suddenly it began to glow

"What the-" Wurmple shined brightly, the light he was giving off was almost blinding as he slowly changed his form from ten legged worm to a silky white elliptical shaped pokemon with spikes all over its body.

"Wow Wurmple evolved!" May happily exclaimed as she pulled out her pokedex. "Silcoon the cocoon pokemon. It prepares for evolution using the energy it stored while it was a Wurmple. It keeps watch over its surroundings with its two eyes."

"Cool, I have a Silcoon now"

"Congratulation on your pokemon's evolution, and victory!" Clark happily proclaimed handing May prize money. "Yeah, here you go" Johnson said handing May prize money "I've never seen a pokemon evolve before, it was so cool!"

"Thanks you guys!" May said placing the money in her fanny pack "and thanks for training with me, I really appreciate it."

"No problem" the two trainers both said as May continued on down Route 116. She went down the path until she came across a large hill with an opening in it. "Rusturf Tunnel" May said reading a sign situated near the entrance of the opening.

"Don't go in there, it's a dead end!" came a voice from behind May. May turned around to see a young man running up to her.

"Hello" May greeted.

"Hello" the young man replied "sorry, but the tunnel is closed, construction was halted because the machines used to build the tunnel upset the pokemon living in there."

"Oh, thanks for the info" May said smiling.

"No problem" the man said turning to leave.

"Well I guess we'll take a quick break from training and have some lunch" she said to herself.

May found a clear patch near the tunnel and released her pokemon.

"Tor!" Torchic happily chirped.

"Skit, Skit!" Skitty meowed.

Silcoon stood silent.

"Tor?" Torchic chirped curiously, investigating Silcoon. "Wurmple evolved Torchic, he's a Silcoon now"

"Tor, Tor!" it chirped congratulating him. Silcoon stood silent.

"Alright time for some grub!" May said pulling out two bowls. "I know how much you loved these last time, so I got some more" May said pulling out the pokesnacks. May opened the jar and poured the contents into the bowls.

Torchic and Skitty happily munched the pokesnacks. May smiled pulling out the Oran berries she bought earlier and started to pop them in her mouth.

Torchic and Skitty quickly finished the snacks and began to play "Skit, Skit" Skitty meowed as Torchic playfully chased her around the unmoving Silcoon.

"I'll let them play a little more, then we'll start training again" May thought to herself as she watched her pokemon play together.

May would continue to train until sunset. Then she would return to the pokemon center to heal her pokemon and get a good night's rest to get ready for her rematch with Roxanne.


	11. Two Triumphs, One Day

Chapter 10: Two Triumphs, One Day

May sat on a lone rock in the middle of a vast sunlit meadow. The breeze made her silky brown hair flutter as well as her clingy white gown. She was waiting for something (or someone) but she had no clue what it was, what could it be? There was nothing beyond the horizon but the field of meadows…wait a minute! In the middle of the meadow May saw a figure. It was rectangular in shape, it was…a door? In the middle of nowhere? This door roused May's curiosity. She wanted to walk towards the door, after all she loved exploring and discovering new things, and a door in the middle of a meadow, who wouldn't want to investigate? Alas she didn't move. Something compelled her to stay on her grounded rock pedestal. As much as she wanted to go to the door, the weird feeling she could only describe as instinct forced her to stay on the rock.

"Go to it May" came a voice that seemed to flow with the wind. She recognized the voice as Brendan's.

"Go to it May"

Hearing Brendan's voice gave her the strength to pull herself away from the rock and the feeling that compelled her to stay on the rock. She started to take a few steps, with each one the feeling becoming stronger.

"Go to it May"

_Ring, Ring_

May opened her eyes.

_Ring, Ring_

"Uggg that damn clock" May muttered; slamming her open palm upon the alarm clock to make it shut up.

May looked around. No meadow, May was safe and sound in the Rustboro City Pokemon Center's guest room, snuggled in the middle of her bed with the covers pulled over her.

"What a weird dream, I wonder what it meant…" May thought to herself. "Oh well, there's no time to dwell on it" May said aloud "today is the day I have my rematch with Roxanne!" She proclaimed jumping off her bed. May grabbed her pendant from the dresser and rubbed it gently "and god willing, I'll be victorious today."

May placed the pendant back on the dresser and headed toward the bathroom to ready herself for today's gym battle.

**34 minutes later…**

May stepped out of the bathroom, towels wrapped around both her body and her head. May got out her casual clothes and laid them on her bed as she took off the towel on her head, letting her slightly moist brown hair fall gently to her shoulders. Then she removed the towel from her body revealing her naked form. May quickly put on her clothes, tied her pendant around her neck, and wrapped her green bandanna onto her head.

"Bye Nurse Joy, and thanks again for letting me stay in the guest room" May said as she exited the pokemon center.

May stepped out to a sunbathed Rustboro, with the blue sky overhead, and started toward the Rustboro City Gym.

**On the other side of town…**

"Do you still have sight of him?" came a voice from Admin Miklo's sleeve.

"Of course homes" Miklo replied his eyes set on an ominous blue uniformed figure hunched in an alley talking to a small radio. Miklo himself was situated at a table parallel to the alley outside a diner, having breakfast.

"When we're on a mission you don't use slang!" came a voice from the other end.

"Look Emmerson you're not the boss, you're an Admin just like me mang, so just shut up and do your job, and I'll do mine!" Miklo said softly but angrily into his sleeve.

"Oh stop acting like you're so high and mighty Miko, you're the Admin of Recon. I on the other hand am the Admin of Intelligence, hear that **INTELLIGENCE**. Jonathan gave me this job instead of your ass because he knows you're a stupid, ignorant piece of ghetto trash. You would fuck up in the intelligence department!"

"Oh and you're so smart homes, then why were you rolling with me and jefe (Jonathan) when we were a gang huh? If you were so sophisticated and intelligent you would have had an honest job, but no you had to come and hang with the eses just so you could have fedia coming your way so your bitch ass wouldn't starve!"

"Pffft whatever, besides what are you doing calling Jonathan jefe? Only Esteban calls hin that, and what do you mean by 'rolling with Jonathan' you weren't hanging with him originally, Esteban was, Jonathan hired the both of us all those years ago." Emmerson replied.

"That's besides the point, we were **both **hired, we **both** rolled with Jonathan and Esteban, and we **both** are Admins, so stop trying to boss me around, we're both equal!"

"We both may be Admins, but you are NOT my equal. I'm not an illiterate piece of hood garbage like yourself, I am a human being."

"Damn homes, you're still the egotistical asshole you were 26 years ago" Miklo replied.

"Just keep your eye on the grunt" Emmerson said as he switched off.

"Prick" Miklo muttered to himself as he continued to eat his breakfast and watch the Aqua grunt.

**Back to May**

"Here goes nothing" May said to herself as she took a deep breath and opened the doors to the Rustboro Gym and entered.

"Oh hello May, come back for a rematch?" said a smiling Roxanne.

"You nailed it" May said smiling.

"That's great! Do you still remember the gym rules?" Roxanne asked.

"Of course!" May replied.

"Well let's get this match started then!" Roxanne proclaimed pulling out a pokeball "go Geodude!" she yelled throwing the pokeball and releasing a familiar rock pokemon.

"Geodude!" it roared.

"Alright here goes nothing! Go Skitty!" May yelled releasing her cute pink kitten pokemon.

"Skit!" it meowed.

"Alright Geodude use Rollout!" Roxanne cried.

Geodude rolled towards Skitty, a trail of dust behind it.

"Dodge Skitty and use Assist!"

"Skit!" Skitty cried as it jumped out of Geodude's way and let loose a swarm of fiery projectiles (using Torchic's Ember) onto Geodude.

Geodude cringed slightly but didn't seem very affected.

(May's Inner Thoughts) "Skitty doesn't have a chance against Geodude in a head to head battle, I have to think of something…. (End of Inner Thoughts)

"Geodude Rollout once more!"

Geodude rolled toward Skitty once more.

"Dodge and use Assist again!" May shouted.

Skitty jumped out of Geodude's way again, but this time a flurry of gooey fibers came out of Skitty's mouth.

"Skitty circle him!"

Skitty began to run circles around Geodude, wrapping him in the sticky fibers. Soon Geodude was fully encased in a cocoon of gooey string.

"Geodude rip through it!" Roxanne cried.

"Don't give them a chance Skitty, use Attract!"

Skitty posed cutely; infatuating Geodude.

"Geo…" Geodude muttered, his eyes fixed on Skitty, unable to move a muscle.

"Skitty Assist one more time!" May yelled.

Skitty shot a gooey string at the infatuated Geodude.

"Start pulling him!"

Skitty began to use the string to pull the immobilized Geodude.

"Faster Skitty!"

Skitty began to move a little faster. As Skitty moved faster, the Geodude rolling behind her rolled faster.

"Keep going!"

Skitty was at full sprint, the Geodude rolling behind her.

"Keep running towards the wall!"

Skitty neared the wall of the gym.

"Let go and jump out of the way!" May yelled.

Skitty released the gooey string from its mouth and jumped out of the rolling Geodude's way.

CRASH

Geodude hit the wall with tremendous force. When the dust cleared it revealed a knocked out Geodude.

"Oh no Geodude! Return!" Roxanne cried recalling her defeated Geodude.

Roxanne chuckled "Wow I did not see that coming, but let see how Skitty fares against this" she pulled out another pokeball "Go Nosepass!"

Out of the pokeball came an odd looking rock type pokemon. It was small, rigid, and stocky. It had weird rock arms and small stout stumps for legs. It was mostly blue in coloring. Its most distinguishing feature was what appeared to be a large, red, rocky nose.

"What the hell is that?" May muttered pulling out her pokedex.

"Nosepass the compass pokemon. Its body emits a powerful magnetism. It feeds on prey that is pulled in by the force. Its magnetism is stronger in cold seasons."

"Nosepass use Rock Tomb!" Roxanne cried.

Nosepass jumped up, when he landed three rocks protruded from the ground trapping Skitty.

"Nose!" it cried heaving itself at Skitty.

CRASH

Skitty was crushed in between the rocks. She toppled over knocked out.

"Return Skitty!" May cried recalling Skitty. "You did great out there, get some rest"

"Choose your next pokemon" Roxanne called out.

May grabbed a pokeball from her belt "It's up to you little vato" she thought to herself. "Go Torchic!" Out of the pokeball came May's orange chick pokemon.

"Tor!" it chirped ready to slug it out for May.

"Alright Torchic use Growl!"

Torchic let loose a low guttural growl from the bottom of its throat, lowering Nosepass's attack.

"Nosepass use Rock Tomb!"

"Dodge it Torchic!"

Nosepass jumped, and when it landed three rocks jutted out of the ground, but Torchic being fast enough, was able to avoid getting trapped in between them.

"Use Ember Torchic!"

Torchic quickly recovering, shot a flurry of fiery projectiles at Nosepass.

"Nose!" it cried cringing in pain.

"Use Rock Tomb again!"

Again Nosepass tried trapping Torchic.

"Dodge it!"

But Torchic evaded the attack

"Use Ember again Torchic!" May yelled.

Once again Torchic let loose with a barrage of fire, hurting Nosepass even more.

"Nosepass quickly recover and use Rock Tomb!" Nosepass once again made three rocks protrude from the ground, but this time it trapped Torchic.

"Nose!" it cried heaving itself at Torchic.

CRASH

Torchic was crushed in between the rocks, and sent flying towards May.

"Oh no Torchic!" May cried.

"Tor…" Torchic stammered hurt, but got back onto its feet.

(May's Inner Thoughts) "That Growl must have weakened Rock Tomb's power" (End of Inner Thoughts)

May noticed something about Torchic; it had a fiery aura surrounding him.

"What's up with Torchic?" May asked her pokedex.

"Torchic's ability is Blaze. It makes Torchic's fire type moves much stronger when it is at one third of its HP" the pokedex informed her.

"Let's end this with Tackle!" Roxanne yelled.

Nosepass heaved itself at Torchic.

"Ember Torchic!"

Torchic inhaled deeply, and exhaled releasing a super hot swarm of fire that pelted Nosepass as it neared Torchic.

CRASH

Torchic once again was sent flying. It landed next to May struggling to get up.

"Tor…" it stammered weakly.

"C'mon Nosepass you can pull through!" May heard Roxanne pleading with Nosepass.

May clenched her fists "C'mon little vato you can pull through this!"

Torchic looked up to see his trainer's determined face. Torchic, motivated by May, used every fiber in its being to pull through.

"…chic!" it chirped getting back to its feet.

"That's the spirit Torchic!" May exclaimed smiling.

"Nose…" Nosepass trembled "…pass" Nosepass fell back onto the ground knocked out.

"It's okay Nosepass you gave it your all" Roxanne said smiling as she recalled her Nosepass.

"Oh…my…god….w-we won…" May said in disbelief "We Won!"

"Tor!" Torchic chirped happily. May ran over to Torchic, picked him up and hugged him. "You did it Torchic! We all did it! Our first gym battle! I-I can't believe it, we actually did it!"

"You sure did!" Roxanne said walking over towards May.

"You commanded your pokemon with excellence; you were in perfect sync with them. I was truly amazed. You've also taught me that even though I'm a gym leader, I still have plenty of room to improve."

"Thanks Roxanne, that means a lot coming from you" May said sincerely.

"If you ever have the chance, I would love to battle you again, after I've trained of course, but for the time being, here" Roxanne handed May a small case.

"What's this?" May asked.

"Something to hold THIS in!" Roxanne proclaimed holding a small badge in the palm of her hand.

"Take it, it's the Stone Badge. You've beat this gym, so you've earned it!"

May grabbed the badge "Wow so cool! Thanks Roxanne!"

"No problem May, I'll be rooting for you!"

"Thanks!" May said once more as she exited the gym.

The sunlight glistened off the polished Stone Badge. "The first step towards the Pokemon League!" May thought to herself smiling. She was about to start heading to the pokemon center, but she spotted a familiar face.

"Hey kid!" May called out.

The kid turned around "hey it's the loser! What have you been up to lately? Losing some more?!"

"Ha that's real funny" May said flipping the Stone Badge in the air, and catching it as if it were a coin.

"I-Is t-that…"

"The Stone Badge, yeah it is" May interrupted.

"B-But h-how…."

"Go tell the other little punks that the loser WON!" and with that May headed toward the pokemon center.

"I'll have your pokemon healed in no time!" Nurse Joy said putting May's pokeballs in a healing apparatus. May sat at a bench putting the Stone Badge in the case Roxanne gave to her, and placed the case in her fanny pack. "My first badge, dad would be so proud, but it's no reason to get cocky. I still need seven more…"

"May your pokemon are fully healed!" Nurse Joy called out.

May went over to the counter. "Thanks Nurse Joy, can I ask you something?"

"Of course dear" Nurse Joy said smiling.

"Do you know where the nearest city with a gym is located?" May asked.

"Well I'd say Mauville if the Rusturf Tunnel was completed…you could try Dewford Town which is south of Route 104, but you'll need a boat, or someone with a boat."

"Thank you Nurse Joy" May said as she started toward the door.

"Anytime dear, you and your pokemon stay safe!"

May walked out to Rustboro. "Well I guess it's time to find someone willing to ferry me to-"

"Get out of my way!" A man interrupted pushing May to the ground and heading in the direction of Route 116.

"Watch where you're going asshole!" May yelled shaking her fist.

"Oh dear, oh dear I'm in big trouble!" came a man in a familiar olive green suit wearing man "he took the goods, he took the goods!" he muttered to himself.

"Hey calm down, tell me what happened" May said picking herself off the ground.

"That damn Aqua hoodlum took my Devon goods! I don't know what I'm going to do…" He replied pacing back and forth.

"Look just kick back ese, I'll go get the goods back ok, just chill" May said.

"You would!-Hey you're the girl from Petalburg Forest! Thank god you're here, if anyone can stop that thug it's you my hero!" the olive suit man said beaming.

"I'll go get them right now!" May said as she ran off toward Route 116. Trailing behind her, an ominous coated figure.

May ran down the path of Route 116.

"No, my poor Peeko!" May heard someone yell at the end of the path. Sure enough at the end of the path, at the entrance of the Rusturf Tunnel a crowd had gathered, talking to each other with fervor in their voices. "What happened?" May asked. "Some thug dressed in blue took my dear Peeko!" said an old man in a dark robe "he went into the tunnel!"

"Don't worry I'll get him back for you!" May proclaimed as she entered the tunnel.

Watching the scene from the bushes was the ominous coated man, Admin Miklo.

"Looks like that idiot grunt went into that dead end tunnel" Miklo whispered into his sleeve.

"Well go in after him, we need to do anything we can to have that grunt accomplish his mission" Emmerson's voice from the radio in Miklo's sleeve.

"The mission was to do everything we can to help the grunt accomplish his mission without alerting him or civilians to our presence. There's a huge crowd near the tunnel, the mission is compromised."

"Well if you say so, but Miklo you're the one who's gonna face Jonathan and explain why the missions been compromised, and you know he's gonna be pissed."

"I know, I know!" Miklo said angrily.

"Head back to base" Emmerson said.

"Roger that, signing off" Miklo said as he turned off the radio. "Shit, Jonathan is not going to be happy" Miklo said fearfully as he left Route 116.

**Back to May**

The tunnel was dark and damp; May could barely see what was in front of her.

"Damnit this tunnel is a dead end!" came an echo from deeper in the tunnel. May ran toward the voice. It didn't take long until she found the Team Aqua grunt holding a Wingull.

"Oh no, not you again!" the Aqua grunt yelled as he saw May approach.

"You don't learn do you?" May said "you failed in Petalburg Forest, and you failed here. Why don't you just give up on this whole crime thing? If you're not up for it, you're not up for it."

"Why you little brat, go Poochyena!" the grunt yelled releasing the dark type from its pokeball.

"Pooch!" it roared.

"Go Torchic!" May shouted releasing her fire type.

"Tor!" it chirped.

"Poochyena use Tackle!"

Poochyena charged at Torchic.

"Torchic dodge and use Peck!"

"Tor!" Torchic cried as it moved out of Poochyena's way and slammed its beak onto Poochyena.

"Poochyena use Tackle again!"

The injured Poochyena ran toward Torchic once more.

"Use Ember!"

Torchic opened its beak letting loose a swarm of fire at Poochyena.

"Pooch!" it cried skidding on the ground, knocked out.

"Aw no, not again!" the grunt cried in defeat.

"Déjà vu huh" May mocked.

"Why must I always run into you, why must you always sabotage my tasks?"

"Hey you think I want to run into you!" May said "if I could choose to never see your ugly face I would, but apparently the universe had other plans.."

"Whatever, I'm out of here. Take the stupid goods, and this squawking headache!" the grunt said dropping the goods and Peeko the Wingull.

"I can't let you go, not until someone comes and takes you away" May said blocking the grunt's path.

"Is that so….POCKET SAND!" the grunt yelled at the top of his lungs, grabbing sand from his pocket and throwing it at May's face.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" May cried falling to her knees, desperately wiping the sand from her eyes.

"Later chump!" the grunt yelled as he ran out of the tunnel.

"Son of a bitch!" May cursed as she finally got the sand from her red watery eyes.

"Tor, Tor" Torchic chirped fearing for May's well being.

"I'm fine Torchic, it just hurt like hell" May said as she got up on her feet "return Torchic" she said recalling her fire type.

"Wingull" Peeko squawked.

"You must be Peeko" May said turning toward the squawking seagull pokemon perched on the floor.

"Gull" it squawked.

"Well come on, your owner's worried sick about you."

"Gull" it squawked once more flying up and perching on May's shoulder. May grabbed the Devon goods and headed out of the tunnel.

"Oh Peeko you're safe!" the old man said grabbing Peeko from May's shoulder and hugged it.

"He's fine, that thug didn't hurt him" May told the old man.

"Oh thank you, thank you!" the old man cried shaking May's hand "I'm in debt to you, if you ever need me for a favor, you just come to my cottage on Route 104."

"Uh, sure thanks" said May.

"Thanks again young lady" and with that the old man walked away. May to went down the path back to Rustboro.

"Oh you got them back!" the olive suit man exclaimed as soon as he saw May come out of Route 116 carrying the Devon goods.

"Here you go" May said handing the man the goods.

"You're a hero!" the man proclaimed.

"No I was just in the right place at the right time again" May said modestly.

"Oh don't be modest" the olive suit man said "come with me, the president of the Devon Corporation would love to meet you" he said grabbing May's wrist; pulling her toward the entrance to a tall building with the word 'Devon' above the entrance.

"Look I'd love to, but I really have to go…" May protested.

"Aw c'mon, it won't take long!" the man said smiling still dragging May toward the entrance.

"Oh alright" May said giving up as she entered the building.

May soon found herself in an elevator heading toward the top floor of the building: the CEO's office.

The elevator stopped, May and the olive suit man stepped out into a large art nouveau decorated room.

"Hello young lady" said a gruff, but kind voice. May turned toward the voice revealing a jolly old man with spiky white hair in a blue suit, and a white hat.

"Hello sir" May greeted politely.

"Polite, I like that" the old man said smiling. "My name is Mr. Stone, the president of the Devon Corporation. I'd just got word about you! You saved our staff not just once, but twice! I have a favor to ask of an amazing person like you. I would like you to deliver a package to Slateport's Shipyard, and deliver this letter to my son Steven in Dewford Town" Mr. Stone said handing May the letter.

"Sure, I was heading to Dewford" May informed him.

"That's perfect, but generous as I am, I don't ask you to do this without getting anything in return…" Mr. Stone said pulling out a pokenav from his desk and handing it to May. "This is a pokemon navigator, or pokenav for short. It has a map of the Hoenn Region. You can check the locations of Dewford and Slateport easily. Oh I almost forgot to tell you! You can also register other people with pokenavs so you can call them. Our companies number is preset in yours so you can call me to let me know when you've completed the tasks I've asked of you."

"Thank you Mr. Stone, I'll head there right away" May said placing the pokenav on her belt, and the package and letter in her fanny pack. She then started to leave.

"Goodbye stay safe May!"

May exited the building and started toward Route 104. As she walked, she fiddled with her new pokenav.

"How the hell do you work this thing?"

BAM

"Oh I'm so sorry!" May apologized, for she had bumped into a boy when she was busy fiddling with the pokenav.

"It's no problem" the boy said turning around.

"Brendan!" May cried as soon as she saw him.

"Oh hey-" Brendan started, but was interrupted by May giving him a tight hug "May"

"It's been a while huh" May said still squeezing him.

"Yeah, and I'm happy to see you too, but you're gonna break my back if you hug any tighter!" Brendan managed to say.

"Oh sorry" May giggled, releasing him.

"So May, what have you been up to?" he asked.

"Oh you know, training, turning heads, and beating gyms" May replied nonchalantly.

"Beating gyms! Congrats May, which gym did you beat?" Brendan asked.

"The Rustboro gym silly, what do you think I'm doing here" May replied smiling.

"Cool, can I see the badge?!" Brendan asked excited.

"Sure" May said pulling out the badge case and showing Brendan the Stone Badge.

"Nice, so May I have-"

"I also got a pokenav from Mr. Stone!" May proclaimed showing Brendan the pokenav.

"O-oh, you got one already" Brendan stammered.

"So Brendan what were you going to say?" May asked smiling innocently.

"Oh, uh well…I was going to say I had something for you…" Brendan said.

"Really! What is it!?" May asked curiously.

"Ummm…" Brendan muttered peering into his backpack. He pushed aside a brand new pokenav still in its packaging (he intended to give it to May) and pulled out a Super Potion.

"H-here, a Super Potion, y-you know just in case your pokemon get really hurt" he chuckled nervously handing her the Super Potion.

"Uhhh thanks" May said confused, placing the Super Potion in her fanny pack.

"So May, why don't we register each other in our pokenav's, you know so we can keep in touch when we are separated" Brendan nervously asked.

"A-are you asking for my number?" May asked blushing slightly.

"Uhhhhh" was all that could escape from Brendan's mouth.

"Because I'll give it to you, I just don't know how to work this pokenav" May said.

"I-I'll show you, just press this button here…then I'll take out mine…"

_Click, Click_

"There we're registered!" Brendan proclaimed.

Both trainers put away their pokenavs.

"So May, since you've become a more experienced trainer, how bout we have a quick battle?" Brendan asked.

"Okay, you're on!" May replied "Go Skitty!"

"Skitty!" the little kitten meowed.

Brendan pulled out his pokedex and documented Skitty.

"So you've made a new friend huh, well so have I, Go Zigzagoon!"

"Zagoon!" it cried ready to battle.

"Skitty use Growl!" May yelled.

Skitty let out a low growl that lowered Zigzagoon's attack.

"Use Tackle!" Brendan yelled.

Zigzagoon charged Skitty and slammed into her.

"Skitty!" it cried in pain.

"Skitty Tackle him back!" May shouted.

"Skit" Skitty meowed as it charged at Zigzagoon.

"Dodge Zigzagoon!" Zigzagoon did not move.

BAM

Skitty slammed into Zigzagoon with its broad head.

"What's wrong with Zigzagoon?! He won't move?!" Brendan asked his pokedex.

"Skitty's ability is Cute Charm, it infatuates enemy pokemon of the opposite gender upon contact" it informed him.

"C'mon Zigzagoon snap out of it and use Tackle!" Brendan pleaded.

Zigzagoon did not move, it stood still staring at Skitty with loving eyes.

"Skitty use Assist!"

Skitty (using Torchic's Ember) let loose a barrage of fire from its mouth that flew toward Zigzagoon.

"Zagoon!" it cried as it skidded towards Brendan knocked out.

"Return Zigzagoon!" Brendan said recalling his defeated normal type. "Jeez you have gotten tougher" Brendan said smiling.

"Thanks!" May replied.

"Go Seedot!" Brendan yelled throwing his pokeball.

Out of the pokeball came a pokemon that resembled an acorn with feet.

"What's that?" May said pulling out her pokedex.

"Seedot the acorn pokemon. It hangs off branches and absorbs nutrients. When it finishes eating, its body becomes so heavy that it drops to the ground with a thump."

"Seedot use Bullet Seed!" Brendan cried.

Seedot bent and shot a flurry of seed bullets that struck Skitty not once, but three times.

"Skitty!" Skitty cried in pain as it fell to the floor knocked out.

"Return Skitty!" May said, recalling Skitty. "Go Torchic!" she yelled sending out her Torchic.

"Use Bullet Seed!" Brendan yelled.

Seedot shot another wave of seed bullets at Torchic.

"Dodge and use Ember!" May yelled.

Torchic jumped out of the way of the Bullet Seed and released a swarm of fire from its beak.

"Seedot!" Seedot cried as the fire hit him. Seedot fell to the floor knocked out.

"Alright, it's up to you Mudkip!" Brendan said releasing his water type.

"Well well, it's Mudkip, ready for some revenge Torchic?" May asked.

"Tor!" it replied ruffling its feathers ready to battle.

"Use Water Gun!" Brendan yelled.

A powerful jet of water escaped Mudkip's mouth.

"Dodge and use Scratch!" May yelled.

Torchic dodged the stream and began to rake at Mudkip with sharp talons.

"Blast him away with Water Gun!" Brendan yelled.

Mudkip opened its mouth.

"Move to the right and use Peck!" May instructed.

Torchic shifted its body to the right narrowly avoiding the Water Gun and slammed its beak onto Mudkip.

"Mud!" it cried cringing in pain.

"Tackle him!" Brendan yelled.

Mudkip slammed into Torchic with its broad side sending Torchic back a few feet.

"Now use Water Gun!" Brendan shouted.

"Kip!" Mudkip yelled releasing a water jet at Torchic.

"Tor!" Torchic cried as the stream struck him.

"Oh no Torchic!" May cried.

"Tor…" Torchic chirped weakly as it slowly got back to its feet, the fiery aura surronding it.

"Tackle him again!" Brendan yelled.

Mudkip charged at Torchic.

"Now Torchic, use Ember!"

Torchic inhaled deeply and exhaled releasing the hottest Ember it ever produced hurdling toward Mudkip.

"Mudkip!" Mudkip cried as it was stopped in its tracks by the powerful Ember. It toppled to the floor knocked out.

"Mudkip return" Brendan said.

"I did it!" May exclaimed "good job Torchic! Return!"

"Wow May, you have really improved, I had no chance!" Brendan praised.

"Aw thanks Brendan" May said blushing.

"Well I think we should head over to the pokemon center and heal our pokemon" Brendan suggested.

"You're right, let's go" May agreed as the two went to the pokemon center.

"I'll heal them right quick!" Nurse Joy exclaimed as she placed May and Brendan's pokemon in a healing apparatus.

May and Brendan found a place to sit and began to talk.

"So May, where are you heading to now?" he asked.

"Well I'm going to head to Dewford Town next to challenge the gym there, and to deliver a letter to Mr. Stone's son Steven" May replied "but I need to find someone with a boat first."

"Oh I know someone that could help you!" Brendan exclaimed.

"Really! Who!?" May asked.

"There's an old sailor named Mr. Briney who lives in a cottage near Route 104 with his pet Wingull named Peeko. He can probably help you" Brendan informed May.

"Mr. Briney…I think I know Mr. Briney!" May replied.

"Really"

"Yeah, I saved an old man's Wingull named Peeko from some thug back on Route 116. He said if I needed anything, to come to his cabin on Route 104."

"That's him!" Brendan exclaimed "lucky break"

"Yeah" May replied. "So Brendan, can I ask you something?"

"Sure"

"I was wondering, would you like to come to Dewford Town with me, I would love to have a friend keep me company" May said blushing slightly.

"Hmmm…" Brendan mumbled thinking about the proposition.

"I'm sure there are all kinds of cool pokemon you can document over there" May added.

"Alright I'll go!" Brendan proclaimed.

"That's great!" May replied.

(Brendan's Inner Thoughts) "Sweet, some alone time with May" (End of Inner Thoughts)

"May, Brendan your pokemon are fully healed!" Nurse Joy called out.

The two trainers got up and collected there pokemon.

"Thank you" they both said as they exited the complex.

"Well let's get going!" May chimed.

"Lead the way May" said a smiling Brendan.

The duo exited Rustboro and headed down Route 104, the setting sun giving off an orange glow that bathed the path, as well as May and Brenadan.

**Thanks for reading! Oh and did you readers notice the King of the Hill reference I put in this chapter. In Solider of Misfortune (Season 6 episode 2) Dale attempts to grab a briefcase from a man. In the struggle, Dale at the top of his lungs yells "POCKET SAND!" grabbing sand from his pocket and throwing it at the man's face. I'll try and put in more pop culture references in future chapter. Anyways, thanks for reading, please review, and I hoped you enjoyed!**


	12. Getting Ready to Set Sail

**This chapter contains a scene that some may consider violent in nature. It is at the very beginning of the chapter so if you want to skip it, the scene will end at the line that reads in bolded letters 'Back to May and Brendan'. With that out of the way, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 11: Getting Ready to Set Sail

"You WHAT!?" Jonathan yelled

Jonathan stood up from the chair at his desk, his eyes red from rage.

On the opposite side of the desk sat Admin Miklo, with two other figures standing at his sides.

"I'm sorry sir, but I had no choice. There was a crowd, I couldn't do anything. If I did I would've alerted the citizens to our presence" Miklo explained.

Jonathan turned around and looked out the window, hands behind his back. "Look Miklo, I believe you. You've been a loyal partner even before the creation of our organization." He turned around once more to look Miklo in his eyes "but you have failed, so you must be punished. As much as this pains me, it must be done." Jonathan turned toward the figures at Miklo's sides. "Esteban, Emmerson…grab him."

The two figures, Admin Esteban, and Admin Emmerson, immediately grabbed Miklo, holding him tight so he could not escape from their grasps.

"N-No jefe, please don't do this!" Miklo pleaded.

Jonathan pulled out plastic wrap from his desk and placed a large strip onto the desk. "Stretch his arm out" Jonathan calmly said as he crouched to put the rest of the plastic wrap back into the desk.

"C'mon Jonathan, This is the first time I've fucked up! Please, please don't do this jefe!" Miklo begged as Admin Emmerson stretched Miklo's left arm onto the plastic laden desk.

Jonathan was silent as he got up from his crouched position. This time in his hand…A large machete.

Miklo's eyes widened as soon as he saw the machete. "N-N-N-NO! Please NO!" Miklo yelled struggling to get out of the two Admin's grasps, but they held firm.

"Look Miklo" Jonathan said as he lightly slid his index finger across the sharp blade. "I would do the same to any of my other cohorts, hell if I fucked up I would have the same done to me."

Miklo stopped struggling. He knew there was no use. He relaxed as his vision became disoriented and his world became surreal.

"Please have a medical unit ready" Miklo heard Jonathan speak into an intercom. Miklo was still in his own world, even as Jonathan lightly placed the cold steel blade about an inch and a half from Miklo's wrist. The blade slowly raised, Miklo's world becoming even more disoriented.

Then a tense five second pause…

CHOP

**Back to May and Brendan**

"B-Brendan why don't we head back to Rustboro? We'll sleep there for the night, then we'll head to Mr. Briney's cottage" May pleaded, grasping Brendan's wrist lightly.

May and Brendan had gone down Route 104 to head to Mr. Briney's cottage. Now they stood at the edge of Petalburg Forest. With the sun setting, May was reluctant to enter the gothic forest.

"May don't be such a baby, it's just a forest. It will be the same tomorrow as it is right now" Brendan said.

"But Brendan, I really don't want to go in that creepy dark forest. It was scary during the day; it'll be creepier at night!" May replied pulling Brendan's arm "please let's just head back."

"May I don't get it, you'll chase down and punch dangerous thugs, but you won't go into a forest lacking a little light?" Brendan said sternly.

"Brendan I'm not scared of people, especially a chavalla like that Team Aqua thug, but I am scared of…" May started.

"What? Pokemon? I thought you were over that" Brendan replied.

"No not that…" May said softly "…ghosts."

"Ghosts!? You can't be serious!" Brendan chuckled.

"W-What!" May exclaimed "what do you mean by that!?" May said angrily, her hands at her hips.

"I-I didn't mean anything by it!" Brendan replied apologetically. "Look, I promise we'll be fine."

May looked at Brendan, with a worried face. She was still reluctant to go.

"I'll protect you from any ghost, I promise" Brendan said grasping May's hand lightly.

May blushed as Brendan took her hand.

Brendan realizing what he was doing, quickly let go of her hand. "We'll be in and out, it won't take long, just trust me" Brendan said with a soft voice as he looked into May's sapphire eyes. "God she has beautiful eyes" he thought to himself.

May sighed "ok, let's go."

"That's the spirit!" Brendan proclaimed as the two entered the forest.

Brendan turned on his pokenav so he could use the light from the screen as a flashlight. Even then it only illuminated a small area, enough so they could see where they were going. Everything else was pitch black.

"Aw jeez this forest is so creepy!" May thought to herself as she walked down the jagged path with Brendan. "Think of happy thoughts, Think of happy thoughts!" May told herself, but no matter how hard she tried she could not. Instead her thoughts went to her childhood, when her mother told her stories of el cucuy (The Mexican Boogieman) when she was naughty. She remembered those sleepless, fearful nights on the couch; fearing el cucuy would grab her from behind and drag her off into the night.

"Uhhh May, what are you doing?" Brendan asked.

"What?" May asked as she broke away from her thoughts.

"Little close aren't you May."

May realized she was clinging onto Brendan's left arm.

"Well I'm pretty scared, so just deal with it. Besides I know you're loving this!"

"Okay scaredy cat" Brendan chuckled as the two continued through the forest.

"You know what this reminds me of" May whispered to Brendan, still clinging to his arm.

"What?" he asked.

"Some videogame I played back in Johto. I forgot the name of it, but I remember you were placed in a dark forest just like this one. All you had was a flashlight and you had to collect notes hidden throughout the forest."

"Pretty creepy" Brendan replied with a hint of fear in his voice.

"Yeah, but that's not all. A tall faceless man would stalk you throughout the entire game. You could tell when he was near because the screen would get all grainy and the flashlight would began to flicker."

Just as May said this, the pokenav started to flicker, the light becoming fainter.

Brendan turned toward May fearfully.

May gasped and looked toward Brendan with fearful eyes.

"I-I f- forgot to c-charge my p-pokenav earlier" Brendan stammered.

"Y-yeah, I-I'm s-sure that's all i-it is" May chuckled nervously.

The light flickered a few more times and finally went out.

Brendan and May's hearts began to beat faster.

"M-May lend me your pokenav!" Brendan said fearfully.

May fumbled with her belt. She could not see the pokenav in the pitch black forest. She desperately ran her hands across her belt hoping to feel the pokenav.

_Rustle, Rustle_

May and Brendan both turned toward the rustling.

"Quick May quick!" Brendan exclaimed fearfully.

"I'm looking, I'm looking!" May responded feverishly.

_Rustle, Rustle_

In the fervor of the moment and the total darkness, May's mind began to imagine the worst. She imagined a giant faceless man dragging her and Brendan into the pitch black forest never to be heard from again. The more she imagined, the more frantic she became.

_Rustle, Rustle_

"Hurry, Hurry!"

May finally found the pokenav and hastily handed it to Brendan.

"Turn it on, turn it on!" she exclaimed.

_Rustle, Rustle_

"C'mon, C'mon!" Brendan exclaimed rapidly pressing the ON button.

"It's gonna kill us!" May shrieked, burying her face into Brendan's shoulder. Just then, Brendan finally got the pokenav to turn on, and the light flooded the patch of grass rustling.

_Rustle, Rustle_

Brendan trembled, and May kept her face buried in Brendan's shoulder, her eyes closed.

"Shroomish" yelped a small brown mushroom-like pokemon as it came out of the rustling patch of grass.

Brendan sighed in relief. "It's okay May, it was just a Shroomish."

May pulled away from Brendan, and turned around only to see a small Shroomish.

"Oh my, I'm so embarrassed" May said, her face in her hand. "Let's just get out of this damn forest."

"That sounds like a great idea" Brendan replied still spooked. The two continued through the forest in silence.

"Finally!" May exclaimed as they reached the end of the forest. They were back on Route 104 (the half closest to Petalburg City).

"See I told you it wouldn't be that bad" Brendan said.

"Oh whatever Brendan, you were scared too!"

"Was not" he replied.

"Was so" she shot back.

"I recall you burying your face into my shoulder" Brendan countered.

"Oh yeah, I recall you on the verge of tears begging me to hurry and get out my pokenav" she shot back smirking.

"I was not on the verge of tears!" he protested.

"Whatever…BRENDAN BEHIND YOU!"

"WHAT, WHAT!" he shrieked quickly turning around.

May started to chuckle "I can't believe you fell for that."

Brendan smiled "alright, I'll admit you got me there, but I was not on the verge of tears."

"If you say so" she replied nonchalantly walking down the path toward Mr. Briney's seaside cottage, Brendan following close behind.

It didn't take long for them to reach the cottage. May couldn't help but notice the large boat anchored at a dock near the cottage.

May knocked on the cottage door three times.

"Coming" she faintly heard someone say from within the cottage. The door opened revealing an old man with a long white beard, in a blue robe.

"Oh it's you!" he happily exclaimed when he spotted May. "Hello Mr. Briney" May said smiling.

"And who is this?" Mr. Briney asked turning toward Brendan.

"Oh, this is my friend Brendan"

"Hello" Brendan greeted nervously.

"Hello to you too Brendan!" Mr. Briney relied smiling. "Where are my manner, come in, come in!" he said ushering the two into his cottage.

"Gull!" Peeko cried happily as soon as it saw May.

"Hey Peeko!" May exclaimed greeting Peeko.

Mr. Briney sat down on his couch. May and Brendan looked around nervously, debating whether if it would be rude to sit down without permission.

Mr. Briney sensed this. "Please sit down, my house is your house."

May and Brendan sat down.

"So young lady, I never got your name, what is it?" Mr. Briney asked.

"May" she answered.

"Well May, I think I know why you are here. You've come for the favor right?"

"Right" May answered, "I was wondering if you could sail Brendan and I to Dewford Town, and then to Slateport City."

"Of course, after all you did save my darling Peeko" Mr. Briney said "but I think we should set sail tomorrow, because it is to late right now."

"Oh okay, we'll just head over to the Petalburg pokemon center and…."

"No, you don't have to do that" Mr. Briney interrupted "I have enough room for you two, you could stay here for the night, I would enjoy the company."

"Sure, thanks" May thanked.

"Yeah thanks Mr. Briney" Brendan thanked as well.

"Well now since that's settled, why don't we have some dinner?"

"Oh god that would be great!" Brendan exclaimed, "yeah I haven't had anything to eat all day" May added holding her grumbling tummy.

"Well follow me!" Mr. Briney said smiling as he got up and walked toward a dinner table.

May and Brendan followed Mr. Briney and took a seat at the table.

"Wingull" Peeko squawked as he flew toward the table, and landed on it, opposite of where May and Brendan sat.

Mr. Briney opened up a cupboard and grabbed four bowls. He placed one in front of May, Brendan, Peeko, and an empty seat that he would sit at.

Mr. Briney grabbed a pot full of Minestrone soup, and started to pour it into the four bowls.

Once he was done, he sat next to Peeko, and the four began to eat and make conversation with each other.

28 minutes later…

"Wow that was tasty" May proclaimed rubbing her full tummy.

"You can say that again" Brendan agreed picking at his teeth with a toothpick.

"I'm glad you kids enjoyed it!" Mr. Briney said smiling. "Well Peeko and I are going to get some shut eye, why don't you kids get ready for bed, you know brush your teeth, shower, whatever you kids need to get done. I have some extra towels in the bathroom drawer." Mr. Briney started toward his room, but stopped. "Oh and I only have one guest room, so one of you is going to have to sleep on the couch, unless you two don't mind sharing a bed with each other."

May and Brendan both flustered fiercely.

"N-no that's fine, I-I'll take the couch" Brendan stammered.

"Oh okay, goodnight" and with that Mr. Briney went into his room.

"So….do you want to shower first?" Brendan asked.

"No, you can go first. I'm going to try and figure out how to work this pokenav's map feature" she replied.

"Oh okay" Brendan said as he went into the bathroom.

For about 27 minutes May sat legs crossed, fiddling with her pokenav as Brendan showered. Then the door opened revealing a freshly showered Brendan, his moist black hair stuck to his forehead and to the sides of his ears. He wore only a plain white t-shirt, black sweat pants, and a pair of socks for pajamas. May gazed at him, thinking to herself how cute he looked with his simple pajamas and dark wet hair. She continued for a couple more seconds until she realized what she was doing. She blushed and gazed down at her pokenav, embarrassed that she was checking her friend out.

"Alright May, the shower is all yours" he said, having not noticed May violating him with her eyes.

"O-okay" May said getting up and walking toward the bathroom, hiding her blushing face the whole time.

30 minutes later…

Brendan was sprawled out on Mr. Briney's couch, with a blanket over his lower waist. He was busy with his pokedex, reviewing all the pokemon he had documented. Then the bathroom door opened.

Brendan stared wide eyed at May, who stood at the doorway wringing her hair out with her towel. She wore a clingy blue nightgown that accented her hourglass figure. When she was done wringing her hair out, it fell gently unto her shoulders. Brendan continued to stare with his mouth slightly opened.

"Well Brendan I'm going to bed, goodnight." May told him.

May's voice broke Brendan from his trance.

"O-okay, goodnight May" he said blushing slightly.

May smiled and went into the guestroom.

When she left, Brendan framed the word "wow" with his mouth as he put his pokedex away. He then turned off the light, and tried to get some sleep. Too bad for him though, because poor Brendan would be plagued with some suggestive dreams throughout the night.

Morning…

May's eyes slowly flustered open. She sat up yawning and stretching. She slowly got off the bed and walked out of the guest room. She caught sight of Brendan still soundly asleep on the couch. She smiled; he looked so cute and innocent. She went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. 3 minutes later, she was done and went back to her room to get dressed.

She exited the guest room once more, this time fully dressed, pokeballs on her belt, fanny pack on her waist, and pendant around her neck. She quickly fixed her green bandanna onto her head as she walked over to the door leading to Mr. Briney's room.

She knocked on the door "hello Mr. Briney are you in there?" No answer.

"He must be outside" she thought to herself as she exited the house. Sure enough May saw Mr. Briney on his boat anchored at the dock; Peeko flying overhead.

May walked over toward the boat, the wooden dock creaking beneath her feet.

"Morning Mr. Briney" May said

"Oh good morning May, I didn't think you'd be up this early, is Brendan up?" Mr. Briney asked.

"No he's still sleeping" May informed him.

"Oh in that case, can I ask you to do me a favor?" Mr. Briney asked.

"Sure"

"Can you go to Petalburg and buy some food for the voyage."

"No problem, I'll head over right now" and with that, May headed toward Petalburg.

It didn't take long for May to reach Petalburg. By now the sun was in the sky, and was shining down onto the city, bathing it in all its glory. May started toward the pokemart.

When she went inside, she picked up some nutrition bars, and pokefood. As she walked up to the counter she saw a familiar dark haired man.

"Dad!?" May exclaimed.

The man turned around "May!" he cried out.

May still holding the bags full of supplies ran over to him and hugged him.

"Your mother and I have missed you, even though it's only been five days!"

"I've missed you both too dad!" May replied still hugging him. "Oh and I have something to show you!" she proclaimed excited.

"What is it hon?"

May reached into her fanny pack and pulled out her Gym Badge Case. She opened it and showed her father her Stone Badge "ta-da, my first badge!"

"Atta girl! I knew you could do it!" Norman proclaimed proudly.

"I also got a pokenav from Mr. Stone" she told him pulling out her pokenav.

"You got to meet Mr. Stone!" Norman exclaimed.

"Yeah he called me to his office after I saved one of his employees, and property, from some thug."

Norman looked at May sternly "What do you mean by 'saved'"

May suddenly got nervous "I-I battled the thug and beat him" May stammered.

"May I don't ever want you getting involved with criminals like that again, you could have been hurt"

"But he could've hurt the man if I didn't intervene. What would you want me to do huh? Stand by and let that happen?"

"Yes if it means you'll be safe." Norman replied.

"Well dad, I guess I'll just head home, cause I can't do that. If I see someone in trouble, I'm helping them."

Norman sighed "May, I don't want you to end your journey, I just want you to be safe. Look just promise me this. Be very wary of criminals. The one you came across was probably some softcore thug out to make a quick buck like the ones back in Goldenrod, but there are those that don't care about money or fame. There are those who have hearts as cold as ice, those who are blinded by self righteousness, those that just want to watch the world burn. Those are the ones you must be wary of May. Promise me you'll learn to identify those criminals, and stay clear of them."

"I will dad" May replied looking into her father's eyes.

"Thank you. Anyways, what brings you back to Petalburg?"

"I was buying some supplies. Brendan and I are heading to Dewford Town by boat, so we might get a little hungry along the way."

"Why are you heading to Dewford?" he asked.

"For a couple of reasons" May answered "first off, to beat the gym there, and the next reason is Mr. Stone asked me to complete two tasks for him, one of which involves me heading to Dewford to deliver a letter to his son."

"Oh…Hey before you go, how about registering your old man in your pokenav so we can call each other whenever!"

"Of course"

Father and daughter both took out their pokenavs

_Click, Click_

"There, we are registered. Well I have to head back to the gym, see you hon!"

"Bye dad, say hello to mom for me!"

"Will do" and with that, Norman exited the pokemart.

May paid for the supplies, and headed back to Mr. Briney's cottage.

When she arrived, she saw Brendan helping Mr. Briney set up the sails for the boat.

"Good morning Brendan" May greeted as she neared the boat.

"Oh hey May!" Brendan replied smiling.

"Did you get the supplies?" Mr. Briney asked.

"Sure did" May replied showing him the bag full of food.

"Alright! Hop aboard, and we'll start sailing to Dewford!"

**I've been thinking about changing the rating of the story from T to M because of some of the more violent parts of my story. This change will not affect the plot, or quality of the story in any way. If you have any complaints, please message me. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.**


	13. Dewford Town

**This chapter contains a scene violent in nature. If you do not want to read that scene, skip to the bolded 'Back to May and Brendan'. I hope you enjoy, oh and review please!**

Chapter 12: Dewford Town

"I now proclaim this wind farm officially up and running!" Jonathan proclaimed.

A large crowd cheered and clapped as the wind farm was activated powering the beautiful city of LaRousse.

"LaRousse City is now officially running on green energy!" Jonathan proclaimed once more.

The crowd cheered even louder.

"Enjoy it my friends because every time we set up something like this, it is for your future, and your children's future. I want to thank you all for pushing your city's officials as all the workers at the Hearts From Hoenn truly enjoyed creating this for you. Together we can advance humanity!"

Again the crowd went wild.

"Thank you and goodbye!" he waved and stepped down from the platform where he gave his speech and headed towards a large black helicopter on standby waiting to take him back to Lilycove City.

Two guards in dark military fatigues opened the chopper door for Jonathan.

"Let's go" Jonathan quickly said as he got in.

The pilot started the chopper up.

The blades began to revolve quickly, gaining speed with every revolution, until the chopper began to ascend.

Jonathan looked down at the happy cheering crowd.

"Ignorant fools" he chuckled to himself as he pulled out his pokenav and started dialing numbers.

_Ring, Ring_

Back in Lilycove, Admin Esteban got a phone call.

"Hello"

"Esteban, how are the new recruits doing?" came Jonathan's voice from the other end.

"They're terrible, they can't run, they can barely complete a proper set of pushups, and to top it off they can't shoot to save their lives. It's gonna take a lot to get these punks fit for the HFHSS" Esteban grumbled.

"Well that's why I'm paying you my friend" Jonathan chuckled.

"Yeah don't worry; I'll make killers out of these pathetic excuses for men."

"Good, good…So how's Miklo doing?" Jonathan asked.

"The doc got the bleeding to stop. He's fine; I think he's resting in the ER. I'm not sure if they put the hook on his hand, oops I mean stump, yet" Esteban chuckled.

"Alright, thanks for the update. I'll arrive soon to size up the recruits" and with that Jonathan signed off.

"Alright time to test the hearts of these punks" Esteban muttered to himself.

"Alright maggots up front!" Esteban yelled with a booming voice.

The recruits; who were running on a 1 mile track inside an expansive room in the Hearts From Hoenn Headquarters. They ran towards Esteban in single file formation.

"Alright you miserable fucks, it's time to test how tough you are, because if you want to be part of this organization and make the big bucks, you'll need to be fucking ruthless!"

The recruits stood silent.

"Bring out the volunteer!" Esteban yelled.

"Immediately, two HFHSS guards in full military gear appeared through a door, one carrying a chair, a rope, and a blowtorch. The other dragging a man in a red uniform and hood.

"What we have here is a Team Magma grunt" Esteban informed the recruits as the two guards tied him to the chair, removing his hood.

"He has stated he'd rather die than betray his organization. We will grant his wish, but before he goes to the other side, he's gonna help us with a little demonstration" Esteban said as one of the guards handed him the blow torch.

"When trying to acquire information from others, one must sometimes turn to some unusual methods of information obtaining" Esteban lit the torch "observe."

Esteban walked up to the Magma grunt.

"N-N-N-No, stay away from-AAHHHHHH!" the Magma grunt shrieked as Esteban placed the searing hot flame to his face. "Notice how I do not give him a chance to finish begging, establishing that I don't give two fucks about his life."

"OH GOD IT HURTS, KILL ME, KILL ME PLEASE!" the grunt yelled.

"Shut the hell up!" Esteban yelled slugging the screaming grunt with his free hand "we're getting to that."

Esteban cleared his throat. "As I was saying, when obtaining information…." Esteban slowly placed the flame next to the grunt's face, causing him to scream in pain. "Do not get into the heat of the moment and turn the amp up to 11 immediately. You slowly ease the dial, so the victim feels every inch of pain, then…" Esteban shoved the flame right onto the man's face, a blood curling scream flooding throughout the expansive room "you give em everything you got!"

The Magma grunt's screaming caused all the recruits to have their eyes widened in shock at the scene unfolding before their eyes.

"Leave him alone!"

Esteban removed the torch from the grunt's face. "Who said that?"

All eyes turned toward one of the recruits in the line.

Esteban walked up to him. "Did you say that?"

The recruit nodded fearfully.

Esteban got him with a right hook, causing the recruit to fall to the floor. Before the recruit could even regain his bearings, a cold metallic object was shoved into his mouth. He opened his eyes, revealing Esteban sticking a 9mm handgun in his mouth.

"What was that huh!? You wanted to say something?!" Esteban yelled. The recruit tried to talk, but the gun muffled his voice. "Can't speak with a gat in your mouth huh, you punk ass leva!" The recruit's eyes were wide with fear.

"Say goodnight prick!"

BAM

The recruit crumpled to the floor.

"That takes care of that!" Esteban proclaimed as he turned toward the rest of the recruits.

"Anybody got something to say about that?"

They all stood silent.

"Good" he said as he went back to the center.

"You there" Esteban said pointing to one of the recruits in the formation "get over here."

The recruit quickly complied.

"Here" Esteban said handing him the blow torch.

"It's your turn" he said gesturing toward the Magma grunt.

**Back to May and Brendan…**

The sun glistened off the waves that crashed off Mr. Briney's boat as it skidded across the water, going down the ocean waterway; Route 105, to reach Dewford Town.

May stood on the boat watching the waves roll past her. She smiled; there was just so much beauty in this moment. The sun high in the sky, the glistening waves, the sea breeze gently blowing onto her face, and the squawking Wingulls, overhead up in the clear blue sky. She sighed; Hoenn was a perfect place for her. It was so beautiful, so free…

"Hey May want some?"

May turned around, revealing a smiling Brendan handing her a previously bought nutrition bar.

"Sure" she replied grabbing the bar, she hadn't eaten all day.

"They sure are good" Brendan mumbled as he took a bite from his own.

May took a bite into her own, her face immediately lit up. "You got that right!" she agreed.

"Four more knots until we reach Route 106!" Mr. Briney called out from the navigation quarters. "Wingull!" Peeko squawked.

"Hey May, let's release our pokemon so they can have some fresh air, and some lunch" Brendan suggested.

"Mmmhmm" May nodded chewing the nutrition bar.

"Come on out Mudkip, Zigzagoon, and Seedot!" Brendan exclaimed releasing his team from the confines of their pokeballs.

"Mudkip!" the little axolotl pokemon cried smiling at his trainer.

"Zagoon!" the tiny raccoon pokemon cried bursting with energy.

"Seedot!" the acorn pokemon exclaimed, trying to keep its balance on the moving boat.

May finished her snack and took out her pokeballs.

"Torchic, Skitty, Silcoon time for some fresh air!" She exclaimed as she released her pokemon.

"Torchic!" her chick pokemon chirped.

"Skit Skit!" Meowed her pink kitten pokemon.

Silcoon stood silent.

Both May and Brendan's pokemon started to greet each other.

"Alright let me get out the bowls and the pokefood" May said reaching into her fanny pack. She pulled out two bowls and poured the pokefood into them.

The pokemon all cried happily as they began to munch on the pokefood (with the exception of Silcoon who could not move).

May and Brendan sat on a grounded bench on the boat and watched their happy pokemon eat.

"Looks like they really liked the food!" May giggled.

The pokemon quickly finished their meal, and began to play. Torchic and Mudkip went up to each other and started to converse with each other (however it is pokemon talk to each other). One would speak, and the other would look at the other's trainer and laugh, and vice versa. It appeared as if Mudkip and Torchic were telling each other tales of their adventures with their respective trainers. Skitty and Zigzagoon ran around the boat playing some sort of game, probably tag. Seedot walked over toward the unmoving Silcoon and just plopped next to him, hanging out with him.

"They get along well" May observed.

"Yeah just like their trainers" Brendan said smiling.

May smiled at him and turned back toward the pokemon having a grand old time.

Brendan stared at May as she gazed upon the pokemon. The sun's rays shinning down unto her face, and the sea breeze making her bangs flutter; teasing her forehead. She was so nice, so caring, and so…beautiful. Wait what? How did that get there? Brendan shook his head "c'mon Brendan you can't think of her like that, she' s your friend, nothing more, nothing less" he told himself in his head.

"Brendan are you okay?" May asked noticing the stress on Brendan's face.

"Wha-oh I'm fine, just a little tired is all" he replied.

"Why don't you take a nap, I'll wake you when we arrive at Dewford" she said warmly.

"There's nowhere to lie down" he informed her.

"Ohh…well you can lie down here, I don't mind if you rest your head on my lap."

"Y-you sure?" he asked with a slight tint of pink forming on his cheeks.

"Go ahead" she said smiling.

"Okay" Brendan said as he took off his hat, letting his black hair free, as it fluttered in the wind. He laid his head down onto May's lap, and closed his eyes, his heart beating quickly due to the close contact with May.

May gazed down at him and smiled, he looked so innocent and cute laying down on her with his eyes closed.

After a few minutes he began to snore. May pulled a blanket from her fanny pack and covered him with it.

"Maybe I should take a nap too" May thought to herself. She closed her eyes, the sun still high in the sky, and dozed off.

Torchic and Mudkip stared at their trainers soundly asleep.

"Tor Tor, Torchic Tor?" (Pokemon to English: "Well well, what do we have here?")

"Mud Mudkip" (Pokemon to English: "Looks like they're falling for each other")

"Skit Skitty!" (Pokemon to English: "Awww, they look so cute together!")

"Zagoon!" (Pokemon to English: "C'mon Brendan bust a move! She wants you, I can smell it!")

"Seed, Seedot" (Pokemon to English: "I don't think Brendan will be busting any moves any time soon")

"Zagoon?" (Pokemon to English: "What makes you say that?")

"Seedot Seed" (Pokemon to English: "Well because ol' Brendan here is too shy and is too focused on that pokedex thing, or whatever he calls it, to sweep May off her feet.")

"Tor Torchic" (Pokemon to English: "Give them some time, and I'm sure there'll be some hidden feelings that'll come to light.")

All the pokemon (except Silcoon) nodded in agreement.

Later that Afternoon…

May stood once again in the field of meadows, the soft breeze making her hair and white gown flutter. In the distance stood the door from the previous dream. She turned around and saw the rock, which seemed to call to her to come back to it. Nevertheless her curiosity compelled her towards the door, but when she tried to move, her legs felt like lead; she could not move.

"Go to it May"

Again the voice, it came with the wind.

"Go to it May"

The voice once again gave her the strength to move towards the door. Although it was still far away, she was getting closer, with each step.

"May wake up"

May opened her eye. The sunlight bore down on her eyes, causing her to block them with her gloved hand.

"Come on you kids wake up!"

Brendan still laying down on May's lap, opened his eyes, only to immediately shield them with his hands to block the rays of the sun.

Mr. Briney stood above the two teenagers.

"You two feel asleep through Route 106" he informed them, as the two trainers got up from the bench and stretched. May rubbed her eyes "We did?" she asked.

"Yeah, anyways we've landed. We have arrived at Dewford Town!" Mr. Briney proclaimed.

May looked past the boat, and towards the shore. Sure enough, before her eyes stood a small island town. The town was quaint, with a few small houses, and palm trees here and there. Two buildings stood apart from the rest of the small houses. One was a pokemon center; the other was the Dewford Town pokemon center. Beyond the town was an overgrowth of vegetation and palm trees. In the center of the whole island stood a large mountain.

Brendan and May recalled their pokemon.

"You two go on ahead, I'll be waiting here on the boat."

May and Brendan got off the boat and headed toward the town.

Dewford had a very seaside feel to it. Palm trees swayed to and fro, and the sparkling waves gently crashed onto the shore.

The white sand displaced under their feet as they walked toward the town center.

"Alright May, what are you going to do first?" Brendan asked.

"I'm going to challenge the gym" May replied, "you wanna come with me?" she asked.

"Yeah sur-" before Brendan could finish, a large bird pokemon swept low past their heads.

"Swellow!" it cawed as it flew toward a route that led out of the town and into another part of the island.

"Oh my god, what was that?!" Brendan exclaimed excited, as he ran towards the direction of the Swellow. "Come back!" he called out to it as he disappeared down the road.

May sighed "figures" she muttered as she went to the gym.

May entered the gym. It was flooded with light. In the middle was a paved battlefield where pokemon could battle. At the opposite end sat a muscular young man with spiky blue hair. He wore an orange V neck, and rolled up blue shorts. He sat on a bench, polishing a surfboard.

"Umm hello" May greeted blushing lightly as she gazed at the young man's muscles.

The young man looked up "oh hey babe" he said coolly "what brings you to the Dewford Gym?"

"I'm here to challenge this gym" May answered. "Are you the gym leader?" she asked.

"Sure am" he replied as he stood up "name's Brawly, resident surfer and gym leader" he informed her.

"Oh, well may I ask you for a battle?" May asked.

"Sure babe, but I must warn you, I love battling as much as I love surfing, are you ready?"

"What are your gym's rules?" May asked.

"You must have two pokemon, and you cannot use poitions."

"Alright, then I'm ready!" May exclaimed.

"Let's get this battle started! Go Machop!"

Brawly threw a pokeball into the air. Out of it came a red swirly mist that composed itself into a short, gray, humanoid pokemon with three brown ridges on its head.

May pulled out her pokedex.

"Machop the superpower pokemon. It continually undertakes strenuous training to master all forms of martial arts. Its strength lets it easily hoist a sumo wrestler onto its shoulder."

"That looks like a tough pokemon" May thought to herself.

"Go ahead babe, send out your pokemon" Brawly said coolly, arms crossed.

"Let's go Skitty!" May yelled releasing her pink kitten pokemon.

"A normal type huh, interesting choice to go up against a fighting type."

"He's a fighting type trainer, guess he's the offensive type" May thought to herself.

"Alright Skitty use Growl and lower his attack!" May yelled.

Skitty let out a low growl, effectively lowering Machop's attack.

"Use Karate Chop!" Brawly yelled

Machop ran towards Skitty and lunged at her, hand first.

"Dodge and use Assist!" May cried.

Skitty narrowly evaded the attack as Machop landed his straightened hand onto the paved battlefield, causing the floor to crack, showing the full extent of Machop's power. Skitty then turned around and let loose with Silcoon's String Shot.

The string wrapped around Machop tightly.

"Rip through it!" Brawly instructed.

Machop instantly tore through the fibers.

(May's inner thoughts) "Damn String Shot won't work."(End of inner thoughts)

"Use Focus Energy!" Brawly yelled.

Machop tightened its muscles.

"Use Assist again!" May yelled.

Skitty once again opened its mouth, this time using Silcoon's Poison Sting, and released a plethora of poisonous darts at Machop.

The darts slammed into Machop both hurting and poisoning him.

"Hehe wrong move babe, you just activated Machop's Guts ability. All his physical moves pack an extra punch!"

"Uh oh" May muttered as she looked upon Machop. Sure enough Machop stood with an angry expression on its face, teeth gritted, and a reddish aura surrounding it.

"Machop use Karate Chop!" Brawly yelled.

Machop sprinted toward Skitty, with an open straightened hand, ready to slam onto Skitty.

"Dodge Skit-" before May could finish, Machop had struck Skitty, instantly knocking the pink kitten out.

"Return Skitty, you did great out there" May said recalling her defeated pokemon. "Let's go Torchic!"

Out of her pokeball came her little fire type.

"Tor!" it chirped ruffling its feathers, ready for battle.

"Torchic Ember now!"

Torchic opened its beak and released a swarm of fiery projectiles that struck Machop with force, causing the fighting type to stagger back.

"Vital Throw now!" Brawly yelled.

Machop grabbed a piece of debris (from the earlier Karate Chop) and flung it with force at Torchic.

"Tor!" it cried in pain as the debris struck it.

(May's inner thoughts) "That attack was powerful!" Torchic survived it, but with that Focus Energy and Guts ability backing Machop up, Torchic won't survive long…Wait I have an idea! I just need Machop in close proximity…" (End of inner thoughts)

"Machop use Low Kick!"

Machop charged at Torchic.

(May's inner thoughts) "Here's my chance!" (End of inner thoughts)

"Dodge and use Peck!" May cried.

Torchic dodged the Machop's kick and slammed into him, beak first.

(May's inner thoughts) "Super effective" (End of inner thoughts)

"Chop!" Machop cried in pain as it fumbled to its knees.

"Come on Machop get up!" Brawly begged.

"Ma…" Machop mumbled as it slowly started to lift itself up. "…chop…" but it fell back down, sucumbering to its poisoning.

"Return Machop" Brawly said recalling his Machop.

"Well well, you're a tough little minx" Brawly said smiling "but let see how it goes up against this…Go Makuhita!" Brawly yelled throwing a pokeball into the air.

Out of the ball came a short and stout pokemon that was mostly yellow in coloring, but had black fists, and a black ring around its neck. On its cheeks were two red circles. "Makuhita!" it cried.

"Makuhita huh" May said as she pulled out her pokedex.

"Makuhita the guts pokemon. It loves to toughen up its body above all else. If you hear quaking rumbles in a cave, it is the sound of Makuhita undertaking strenuous training."

"Hmmm interesting" May muttered.

"Alright Makuhita use Bulk Up" Brawly yelled.

Makuhita tightened its muscles, raising its defense and attack.

"Use Ember Torchic!"

Torchic spew a swarm of fire at Makuhita.

"Makuhita!" it cried cringing in pain.

"Don't let up Torchic, use Peck!" Torchic ran towards Makuhita, slamming his beak right onto Makuhita's belly.

"Alright he's close, use Arm Thrust!"

Makuhita began to swing his arm.

"Quick dodge Torchic!"

Torchic narrowly evaded the swinging arm by shifting to the right, but much to May and Torchic's surprise, Makuhita swung again, and again, striking Torchic two times.

Torchic fell to the floor.

"Tor…" it muttered as it slowly got back to its feet.

Suddenly both pokemon began to illuminate, flooding the field with a blinding light, causing both May and Brawly to shield their eyes.

When the light faded, two entirely different pokemon stood on the field.

One was yellow and orange. It stood upright, had large talons, and three claws on each hand. On its head were three orange feathers.

"Combusken!" it cried out.

The other was very large and bulky. It had large round blue legs, with two toed orange feet. It also had yellow skirt like extensions around its waist. On its head were two blue crests that formed a V. Its most distinguishing feature was its two large three fingered hands.

"Hariyama!" it roared.

"Wow my Torchic evolved into Combusken!" May proclaimed as she pulled out her pokedex.

"Combusken the young fowl pokemon. It lashes out with 10 kicks per second. Its strong fighting instinct compels it to keep up its offensive until the opponent gives up. Known moves: Ember, Scratch, Peck, Growl, Focus Energy, Double Kick."

"Double Kick, that's new" May muttered to herself as she pointed the pokedex at Hariyama.

"Hariyama the arm thrust pokemon. It has the habit of challenging others without hesitation to tests of strength. It's been known to stand on train tracks and stop trains using forearm thrusts."

"Wow I have a Hariyama now, cool!" Brawly exclaimed. "You know I've seen a pokemon evolve before, but never two at the same time."

"Yeah me too" May added.

"Alright let's show May and Combusken your new strength, Arm Thrust now!"

The hulk of a pokemon charged at Combusken.

"Focus Energy Combusken!"

Conbusken tightened its muscles, as Hariyama loomed closer.

"…Peck now!"

Combusken slammed its beak onto Hariyama, just as Hariyama landed its gigantic fist onto Combusken. Combusken flew back a few feet, while Hariyama staggered back a few steps.

"Arm Thrust again Hariyama!"

Hariyama started its charge once more.

"Quick Combusken get up and use Ember!"

Combusken got to its feet and spewed a swarm of fire from its beak.

"Hariyama!" Hariyama grumbled as the fire struck it, causing it to cringe in pain.

"Now Combusken use Double Kick!"

Combusken charged at the Hariyama that was still cringing.

WHAM

Combusken struck Hariyama with a forceful kick to its belly.

WHAM

In the blink of an eye, Combusken landed a second kick. Hariyama swayed a little, and then fell to the floor, knocked out.

"Oh no Hariyama!" Brawly cried as he ran up to the giant pokemon sprawled out on the battlefield knocked out.

"Don't feel down buddy, you did great!" he said smiling as he recalled Hariyama.

"W-We did it!" May proclaimed running toward Combusken and embracing him in a hug.

Combusken!" the newly evolved Combusken chirped as it hugged May back.

"You sure did babe, you and Combusken made a much bigger splash then I expected. I was swamped!" Brawly said.

"You were really tough too Brawly" May said

"Thanks babe" Brawly said as he reached into his pocket "here, this is the Knuckle Badge. You have definetly earned it!"

"Thanks Brawly bye!" May said as she exited the gym.

As she exited, she heard the gym doors open, and out came Brawly. "I almost forgot, if you're planning on heading to the Granite Cave, which is not too far from town, you might need a flashlight or something" he informed her.

"Oh, thanks for the info Brawly" May thanked.

"No problem babe, well I'm gonna hit the waves, see you!" he said waving as he headed for the beach, surfboard in toe.

May waved back and headed toward the Dewford Town Pokemon Center.

Inside she was greeted by a familiar weird hat wearing trainer.

"Oh hey May, how did your battle go?" Brendan asked.

"I won!" May proclaimed, showing Brendan the Knuckle Badge.

"Wow May, you're just blazing through the gym leaders aren't you."

"Yeah, hey so did you catch that bird pokemon?" May asked.

"No, it tried to crap on me, but luckily I evaded its attack" Brendan replied.

May burst out laughing, "I can't believe it tried taking a dump on you!"

"I know right! But I found something really cool when I was chasing it." Brendan said.

"What did you find?" May asked curiously.

"A really beautiful beach, I was thinking we should take a break and just relax over there." Brendan suggetested.

"Hmm…You know what, I'm in. We'll head over there after I heal my pokemon" May replied.

"Great, we'll stop by a shack that sells swimwear, buy some beach clothes and take a dip!"

"Sounds good to me!" May replied as she gave Nurse Joy her pokeballs and waited for them to heal. Soon she would be relaxing at the beach.

**So what did you all think of the battle against Brawly? Did you like it? Also, I haven't explained what the HFHSS is even though it has been mentioned throughout my story. It stands for the Hearts From Hoenn Security Service. They are the paramilitary arm of the Hearts From Hoenn, lead by Jonathan and Admin Esteban. That's all for now, please review and I hope you enjoyed!**


	14. The Granite Cave

**Sorry for taking long to update, I was busy with school work. I'll try and update the next chapter a little quicker as a way for me to say sorry to you all. Well here is Chapter 13. I hope you enjoy, oh and please review. Reviews keep me happy and motivated.**

Chapter 13: The Granite Cave

"Your pokemon are fully healed!" proclaimed Nurse Joy as she handed May her pokeballs.

"Thanks Nurse Joy" May thanked as she placed her pokeballs onto her belt. She walked over to Brendan, who was sitting on a bench. "Alright Brendan let's get going" May said as Brendan got up from the bench. "Okay let's go."

May and Brendan exited the pokemon center and out to Dewford Town's sun bathed square. Surrounding the town square were small novelty shops, diners, and grocers, with palm trees sprouting above the stores from the sandy sidewalks.

"So Brendan, where is that swimwear shop you saw?" May asked. "Over here, follow me" Brendan replied.

May and Brendan walked down the sandy sidewalk occupied by a few locals and reached what looked like a tiki hut.

"Here it is!" Brendan proclaimed as he opened the door to let May in.

"Thank you" May said as she went through the door "I guess chivalry isn't dead." Brendan flustered slightly at May's comment as he too went inside the store.

"Wow look at all the pretty bikinis!" May exclaimed beaming. The store was filled with all sorts of attire and items for a beach excursion. May walked toward the aisles, looking at the different bikinis.

"I never pictured you as a shopper" Brendan remarked.

"Well I guess that's something new you learned about me today, I LOVE shopping!" May replied as she continued to browse at the two piece bikinis.

"Hmm those look nice" Brendan thought to himself as he spotted a pair of red swim trunks.

"Oh Brendan, what do you think of these?" May asked excited. Brendan turned toward her. "What do you think? Does it go well with me?" May asked as she held out a green bikini "try to picture me in them."

"I t-think t-they'll look g-great on y-you" Brendan stammered as the image of May in the green bikini popped into his mind, making him sweat and blush.

"And look it even has a green skirt and a pair of sandals to go with it!"

Brendan could only nod, for the image in his mind had made him speechless.

"I'm going to buy these right now!" May proclaimed as she hurried towards the store's counter.

Brendan shook his head to get the image out of his head, to no avail. Realizing that image was going to be sticking around for a while, he continued on, picking up items needed for the trip such as the red trunks, towels, and a beach umbrella. After all the items were acquired, Brendan headed toward the counter to pay for the goods.

"All ready young sir?" the store clerk asked. "Sure am" Brendan said as he placed the items on the counter and reached into his backpack for money.

"That'll be 300 pokedollars" the clerk said.

Brendan handed him the money.

"Seems like everything is costing more huh" the clerk said as he placed the money into the cash register.

"Yeah" Brendan replied as he looked left and right searching for May. "Where did she go?" he muttered to himself.

"Oh your girlfriend; she went into the changing room to put on that bikini she bought" the clerk answered, having heard Brendan.

Brendan turned a deep shade of red. "S-she's not my g-girlfriend, we're just friends."

"Hehe whatever you say young sir" the clerk replied winking at him.

"No really-"before Brendan could finish his sentence, May came out of the changing room in her beach outfit.

"Tada! How do I look?" She asked.

Brendan blinked twice, taken aback by May in her new outfit. He stared at her with his mouth slightly opened. May wore a thin green skirt (with the green panties of course, but they were not visible because of the skirt), a green bra on her busty chest, green sandals on her delicate petite feet, and of course her green bandanna on her head. Brendan blushed fiercely; the outfit defined her toned curvy body.

"Y-you l-look fantastic" Brendan finally stammered out.

"Thanks! Hey Brendan why are you so red, are you coming down with something?" May said with concern in her voice as she walked up to him to feel his forehead.

"I-I'm fine, let me just put on my swim trunks, and we'll start heading out" Brendan quickly said as he grabbed the red swim trunks from the counter and headed toward the changing rooms.

A Few Minutes…

"There, I'm ready" Brendan said as he exited the changing room.

When May saw him, her cheeks became slightly pink. His dark hair was wild and free, and his body was nice and slender. May hid her blushing face with her hand.

"Alright let's go!" He proclaimed as he grabbed the beach umbrella, and put on his backpack. May grabbed the towels, her fanny pack, and swung them over her shoulder as she followed Brendan out of the store and to the beach.

It didn't take long for the two trainers to reach the beach.

"Wow this beach is beautiful!" May exclaimed, her beaming sapphire eyes sparkling in the sun. Indeed it was, the clear blue waves gently crashed onto the white sandy shore. Palm trees rose above the beach and waves, proud and majestic.

May squealed in delight as she took off her sandals and ran toward the shoreline.

"Oh May" Brendan thought smiling as he started to set up the umbrella and towels. "C'mon out Mudkip, Seedot, and Zigzagoon!" Brendan yelled releasing his pokemon after the area was set up.

May walked on the shoreline, letting the gentle waves crash onto her exposed feet. She giggled as the breeze from the sea made her brown hair and green skirt flutter.

"Are you liking the beach May?" Brendan asked as he came running toward her with Mudkip following close by.

"I love it, it's so beautiful!" May replied smiling.

"I knew you'd love it, c'mon let's head in!" Brendan said as he started toward the waves. May stood still.

"What's the matter, aren't you coming in?" Brendan asked turning toward May.

"No I can't swim" she replied.

"Oh, well Mudkip and I are gonna head in. Can you look after Seedot and Zigzagoon for me?" he asked.

"No problem"

"Thanks!" Brendan exclaimed as he and Mudkip went into the clear blue waves.

May walked away from the shoreline and towards the area Brendan set up for them.

"Seedot!" "Zigzagoon!" both pokemon greeted as May approached them.

"Hey guys, guess Brendan left you here all alone huh" May said as she knelt down to talk with Brendan's Seedot and Zigzagoon.

"Seedot" the grass type chuckled.

"Zagoon" the normal type yelped.

"How bout we play a little prank on him?"

Seedot and Zigzagoon stared at her curiously as May dug a foot deep hole in the sand. Then she placed Brendan's towel over it could not be seen.

Both Seedot and Zigzagoon chuckled.

"When he comes don't let him in on the prank okay."

Both pokemon nodded.

"Thanks guys" she said smiling, as she petted both pokemon.

Both pokemon yelped happily as May stoked them with her soft hands. Then she got up and grabbed her pokeballs from the belt on the sandy ground.

"Come on out eses!" May cried as she released her pokemon.

"Combusken!" the young fowl pokemon exclaimed as it stretched and ruffled its feathers.

"Skitty!" the pink kitten pokemon meowed; delighted with its surroundings.

Silcoon stood still.

"How are you all doing?" May greeted her pokemon.

All of her pokemon (except Silcoon) greeted her warmly.

"Well as you can see, we are at the beach. There will be no training today, so you all can play and relax. I'll be here under the umbrella reading" May said.

"Combusken!" chirped Combusken as Skitty and Zigagoon began to talk amogst themselves. Then all three pokemon started to run around the beach. It appeared that Skitty, Zigzagoon, and Combusken were playing tag, with Combusken chasing the other two; trying to tag them.

"Well I guess it's me and you Silcoon" May said as she placed the unmoving pokemon next to her and pulled out a scientific magazine, and opened it. Before she got a chance to start reading, she saw Seedot walk towards her.

"Hey, Seedot, why aren't you playing with the others?" May asked.

"Seed, Seedot" Seedot replied nodding towards Silcoon.

"Oh you want to hang with Silcoon huh"

Seedot nodded.

"Go ahead" May said "I've noticed you like to spend a lot of time with him. Is it because you think he gets lonely because the others go off to play without out him?"

Seedot nodded again.

"Well I think that is very nice of you Seedot. I think you two will become best friends!"

"Seedot!" Seedot said happily as he walked toward Silcoon and sat down next to him.

May smiled and went back to reading. "Hearts From Hoenn power LaRousse with wind farms…"

As May started to read, a strong wind blew from her right side, causing her to turn her head to the left and close her eyes. When the wind subsided, she opened her eyes.

"What's that?" she muttered.

Off in the distance stood a large rocky cliff face. She could make out an opening on the cliff.

"Hmmm I wonder what that is?" she thought to herself as she pulled out the pokenav from her fanny pack.

"It says here that's the Granite Cave" she thought to herself "I want to go but I have to stay here and look after the pokemon."

She tried to take her mind off the cave by reading her magazine, but it was to no avail. Her mind went right back to the cave.

Finally she gave in. "Screw it, I'm exploring that cave!" She said aloud as she got up from her towel and put her fanny pack. She wrote a note and left it next to Brendan's backpack.

May picked up Silcoon.

"Seed Seedot?" the grass type said confused.

"C'mon Seedot, we're going spelunking!" May proclaimed.

"Seedot!" the acorn pokemon exclaimed as he followed May towards the rest of the pokemon.

"Hey guys, do you wanna do something really fun?" May asked Combusken, Skitty, and Zigzagoon.

All three of them exclaimed excited.

"We're going to explore that cave" May said as she pointed toward the opening on the cliff face.

All the pokemon nodded and followed May toward the Granite Cave (except Silcoon who was held in May's left arm).

As they entered, May realized how dark it was.

"I can't see a thing" May thought to herself as she pulled out her pokenav with her free right hand. She turned it on and a beam of light illuminated the inside of the cave slightly. "That's better" she said as she and the pokemon continued through the cave.

The farther in she went, the darker the cave got, and the less the pokenav's light illuminated. "If it keeps getting darker, we'll have to –AHHHH!" May tripped on something on the ground. She wrapped both arms around Silcoon to protect it from the impact.

THUD May hit the floor.

Combusken, Skitty, Zigzagoon, and Seedot all yelped in concern as they ran towards her to see if she was okay.

"I'm fine, no need to worry" May reassured them as Combusken helped her to her feet.

"What the hell did I trip on?" May asked herself as she shined the light on what she had tripped on.

The light revealed a small four legged pokemon encased in iron armor. "Aron…" it mumbled sleepily.

"Wow an Aron, I'm going to catch it!"

Hearing this, Aron shook its head to wake itself up and get ready for battle.

"Alright Combusken let's-"

Before May could finish, Silcoon began to shine brightly in her arms, illuminating the cave. It was so bright that May and all the pokemon had to close their eyes and look away. May felt a peculiar sensation on her arm as Silcoon evolved.

Then the light grew fainter until it was non-exisistent (save for the light coming from the pokenav). May and the pokemon opened their eyes to see an empty handed May. Above her flapping his new wings gracefully was the newly evolved Beautifly. It had a large pair of dark wings with large yellow markings, and other smaller red and blue markings. It had two antennae that protruded from its head, and a large curled proboscis.

"Seedot!" Seedot congratulated as well as Combusken, Skitty, and Zigagoon.

"You finally evolved Beautifly!" May congratulated "I had no idea you would become so beautiful!" she said with beaming sapphire eyes.

"Beautifly!" Beautifly replied happily.

"Hey Beautifly, do you want to help me catch Aron?"

"Beaut" it nodded.

"Alright! Let's see what you're new moves are…" May pulled out her pokedex.

"Beautifly the butterfly pokemon. It's colorfully patterned wings are its most prominent feature. It flies through flower-covered fields collecting pollen. It attacks ferociously when angered. Known moves: Gust, String Shot, Absorb, Stun Spore, Poison Sting."

"Cool. Well since I already have it out, I may as well…" May pointed the pokedex toward Aron.

Aron the iron armor pokemon. A pokemon that is clad in steel armor. A new suit is made when it evolves. The old, discarded armor is salvaged as metal for making iron products. Known moves: Metal Claw, Headbutt, Harden, Mud Slap."

"Alright let's start this off with Poison Sting Beautifly!"

Beautifly uncurled its proboscis and shot out a plethora of poisonous darts that headed straight towards Aron.

Aron grew tense, making its armor shine. The darts bounced off Aron harmlessly.

"Hmmm seems like Aron is a defensive pokemon. Makes sense since he is the iron armor pokemon" May thought to herself. "Okay Beautifly, since Aron is a pokemon built for defense, let's see what happens when we hit his special defense! Use Absorb!" May yelled.

Beautifly closed its eyes and focused all of its energy in taking some of Aron's HP. Aron cringed as some of its HP was sapped and sent to Beautifly.

Aron retaliated by using Headbutt, lunging itself at Beautifly headfirst.

"Dodge and use Stun Spore Beautifly!"

Beautifly evaded Aron's attack and sent a cloud of yellow dust toward Aron, paralyzing it.

"Good job Beautifly!" May said as she pulled out a great ball.

"You're mine Aron!" May proclaimed as she threw the great ball, causing Aron to become a red swirl of energy that was captured inside the spherical ball. It shook three times and pinged.

"Odelay I caught an Aron!" she proclaimed; fist in the air. She turned to Beautifly "and thank you Beautifly, I couldn't have done it without you."

"Beautifly!" the butterfly pokemon exclaimed happily as it perched onto May's head making her giggle. She walked over toward the great ball and picked it up.

"Come on out Aron!" May said as she released her new pokemon.

"Aron…" it muttered in pain from the paralysis.

"Hold on buddy I'll make the pain go away" she said softly as she pulled out a Paralyze Heal from her fanny pack and sprayed the contents onto Aron.

"Aron!" the little steel and rock type exclaimed happily, immediately feeling the relief.

"I'm glad you're feeling better Aron, welcome to the team!" May said smiling as she patted the little Aron's head gently. "I'm sure you'll get along with the rest of the group, right?" May said turning toward her and Brendan's pokemon. They all nodded and greeted Aron warmly. Aron did the same.

"I'm so glad you're all getting along so well, c'mon let's go further into the cave!" All the pokemon nodded their heads and followed May deeper into the cave.

As May went deeper, she noticed a faint glow at the end of the cave. "What's that?" she thought curiously as she neared the glow becoming brighter as she got closer.

**Back on the Beach…**

"Well that was a nice swim huh buddy" Brendan said as he emerged from the waves and onto the shore, along with his Mudkip.

"Mud!" Mudkip agreed as it followed Brendan toward their area.

"Hey where are all my pokemon, and where's May?" Brendan said as he looked left and right, scouring the beach for a sign of May or the pokemon.

"Mud" the little water type said with a muffled voice.

"What's that-Oh a note" Brendan said as he grabbed a small piece of paper from Mudkip's mouth and read it.

"Gone spelunking with the pokemon. Will be back soon

-May"

"Oh May, you can never sit still can you?" he said smiling. "Oh well, I guess I'd better go find her."

Brendan grabbed his backpack and pulled out his shoes. He went to sit down on his towel to put them on, only to have the towel give way from underneath him. Brendan's butt was stuck in the hole May had dug.

"Leave it to May to pull a prank on some poor unfortunate fellow" Brendan grumbled.

Mudkip tried to contain itself, but could not. It burst out laughing as Brendan struggled to get out of the hole.

**Back to May…**

May finally reached the glowing light. It lead to another part of the cave.

When she and the pokemon entered, they saw that the glow was coming from an oil lamp situated on the cave floor. Near the cave wall, was a man about 23 years old, with spiky grey hair, wearing a black suit. He was picking away at the wall with a chisel.

"Ummm hello" May greeted, surprised to see someone so deep in the cave.

The man turned around "Oh hello, I didn't think someone would come so deep into the cave."

"Neither did I" May replied.

The man stood up and walked toward May. "Hi my name's Steven Stone" he said holding out his hand.

"My name's May Maple" she greeted shaking his hand. "I have a letter for you from your dad Mr. Stone" she said as reached into her fanny pack and pulled out Mr. Stone's letter, then handed it to Steven.

"Why thank you, no wonder you came so deep into the cave. You're quite the messenger" Steven said as he read the letter.

"Actually I had no idea you were in here, I just wanted to explore the cave."

"Hmm interesting. I guess everything happens for a reason" Steven said as he placed the letter into his pocket.

"What are you doing in here anyways?" May asked.

"I was searching for rare stones, it's my passion" he replied.

"Oh…"

Steven knelt down and observed the group of pokemon. "They seem to be very happy and comfortable around you. Are you a trainer?" he asked.

"Sure am!" she replied.

"Hmm…I think if you really believe in yourself, you could become the champion of Hoenn."

"Really!?" May said delighted.

"Yeah I really think so. Well May, I think we should get out of this cave, it's kind of spooky" Steven said as he grabbed the oil lamp and lead May and the pokemon out of the cave and back onto the sun bathed beach.

"You look like a really promising trainer May, I think we should stay in touch. Do you have a pokenav?"

"Yeah, your dad gave me one" she replied.

"Such a generous guy right, well let me take out mine…"

_Click, Click_

"There we are registered. Well I have to go; I wish you luck on your pokemon journey."

"Thanks Steven" May said smiling as Steven nodded and walked away.

"What a nice guy" May thought to herself as she and the pokemon made their way toward the beach encampment.

"May get me out of here!" Brendan pleaded as she approached the encampment.

May giggled "I see you have fallen into my little trap."

All the pokemon burst out laughing.

"Ha ha very funny, but I've been stuck here for about sixteen minutes now looking like a fool. Can you please help me out of this!?"

"Sure, give me your hand" May said, still giggling. "One…two…THREE!" May used all of her strength to pull Brendan out of the hole.

"That's much better" Brendan said stretching out his back. "What were you doing in a cave anyways?"

"Oh I just wanted to explore a little is all" May replied.

"Wow May, you're pretty impulsive" he chuckled.

"Well it's a good thing I am, because it just so happens the man I had to deliver the letter to was in the cave. If I hadn't been so impulsive, we may have been on this island longer, looking for Steven. I also would never have met my new friend" May said gesturing toward Aron.

"Aron!" it cried.

"Cool an Aron!" Brendan exclaimed as he pulled out his pokedex from his backpack and documented the little pokemon. "Well since you're job here in Dewford is done, how bout we go to the pokemon center, heal our pokemon, put on our casual clothes, and start heading to Slateport."

"That sounds like a plan, but before that, can we get a bite to eat? I'm starving, all we had were those nutrition bars back on the boat" May suggested.

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry myself" Brendan said clutching his grumbling belly.

"I saw a noodle place over at the town square" May informed Brendan as the two recalled their pokemon and headed back to the town square.

They soon reached a diner that was made to look like a tiki hut.

"Here it is" May said as she and Brendan entered the food joint. They ordered noodles, and sat at an empty table.

"So May, what are you going to do in Slateport, I forgot?"

"I need to deliver Mr. Stone's package to someone over there" May replied.

"Who?" Brendan asked.

"The package said it was for someone over at the Slateport Shipyard named Captain Stern."

"Hmm interesting. What are you going to do after that?" Brendan asked once more.

"I'll probably head up north to Mauville City and challenge the gym there. From then on I'm not sure; I'm making this up as I go."

Brendan chuckled "Oh May, you don't plan for anything do you. You just go where ever the wind takes you."

"Hey I don't see it as a bad thing. I believe if you plan to do things, it takes out the fun in actually doing it. I think it's much more fun when life throws you something unexpected" May replied.

"And what happens, may I ask, if you aren't prepared for what life throws at you?"

May shrugged her shoulders "I don't know, but when ever that may happen, I'll think of something, I always do."

The two stayed silent for a while. "Foods taking long isn't it" May yawned.

"Yep" Brendan agreed as he laid his eyes on May's pendant. It was a peculiar thing made of jade, with a carving of a serpentine dragon on it.

"I don't remember her wearing that before" Brendan thought to himself, which was interesting since Brendan had stared at May for long periods of time before, even if it was subconsciously.

"B-Brendan, what are you looking at?' May said red faced and embarrassed, for she thought Brendan was looking at her…well you know.

"What's that?" Brendan said gesturing to the pendant around her neck.

"O-oh this!" May said as she grabbed held out the pendant, smiling embarrassed.

"Yeah, what do you think I was-Oh that…No I wasn't looking at your…you know" Brendan said as a slight tint of pink formed across his face.

"Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking" May said meekly, still red in the face.

"Anyways, what's the deal with the pendant? I've never seen it before."

"Really, I got this when we first started our journey. Remember when my mom said goodbye to me" May said.

"Yeah I remember" Brendan replied.

"Well she also gave me this pendant" she said as she handed it to Brendan "I can't believe you haven't noticed it until now."

"Well it's not like I'm staring at you all the time" (subconscious lie) Brendan chuckled. "Why did she give this to you?" he asked as he observed the jade pendant in his hands.

"My mom said it was passed down by all the females on her side of the family. After she learned I was going on my journey, she figured it was time to pass it down to me. Apparently as long as I have it with me, I'll have the strength and courage of the pokemon in the carving."

"Really!" Brendan exclaimed astonished.

"Yeah, to tell you the truth, it has helped me overcome some fears during my journey so far, but I don't think it has powers or anything. I think it's more of a confidence thing you know."

"Gee I wish I had something like that" Brendan said with a hint of envy as he handed the pendant back "even if it doesn't have any powers."

"Why do you need a courage boost? Girl problems?" May smirked.

"Wha-No!" Brendan protested, blushing slightly.

May began to chuckle "C'mon Brendan, you know you can talk to me about stuff like that. Who is she; did you meet her on Route 102?"

"N-No, I don't have girl problems!" Brendan insisted.

May chuckled a little more "Whatever you say" she said skeptically.

Just as May said this, the waiter came and brought May and Brendan their meals.

"Mmmmm this looks good!" Brendan said with beaming eyes, fork at hand ready to dig in.

"You got that right!" May agreed as she too grabbed her fork.

**32 minutes later…**

After May and Brendan finished their meals, they headed toward the Dewford Town Pokemon Center. There they healed their pokemon, and changed back into their regular clothes. Then they headed to Mr. Briney's boat.

"Mr. Briney we're ready to set sail to Slateport!" May proclaimed as she and Brendan boarded the boat.

"Wha-oh hey it's you two!" Mr. Briney said as he woke up from his slumber. "Jeez you're already finished with your business here, it's only been…what 5 hours?"

"Yeah we were pretty fast weren't we" Brendan said as he looked at his watch "it is 2:25 in the afternoon."

"Hey that just means more time to reach Slateport" May said "no complaints here."

"Well get comfy" Mr. Briney started "in about 2 or 3 hours, well be docked at Slateport beach, onwards to Slateport City!"

**Thank you for reading. The next chapter will be ****Slateport City****.**


	15. Slateport City

**So Spring Break is on (yay)! That means more time for me to write (although I will be busy with other things). Hopefully I'll be able to bust out chapters quicker than before, but no promises. I want to give a shout out to my friend Razzorow since he gave a shout out to me in his previous chapter. If you're looking for a good story with an OC, then I suggest you go read his story and tell him what you think of it. Thank you for your time, and I hope you enjoy.**

Chapter 14: Slateport City

_1:20, Lilycove City. Hearts From Hoenn Headquarters._

Jonathan sat at an art deco dining table on an outdoor dining area on one of the upper floors of the building. He was about to enjoy a hearty meal of a cooked Magikarp fresh from one of the beautiful beaches in Lilycove, and a slice of roasted Grumpig with lemonade for a beverage. The area was surrounded by green healthy looking ferns, bathed by the radiant glow of the afternoon sun. The area was also accompanied by the sounds of the hustle and bustle of any big city.

As Jonathan began to dig in, the door leading to the dining patio opened.

"Oh hello Esteban, what brings you up here?" Jonathan asked a little annoyed.

"Just here to inform you that we have found a Diglett (mole) for Team Magma."

"That's fine news, why don't you go talk with Admin Emmerson, and give me an update on Team Aqua's movements." Jonathan said as he grabbed his fork and knife and got ready to dig into his meal.

"No problem jefe…" Esteban started as he turned to leave "can I ask you a question?"

Jonathan sighed placing his fork and knife down and turning his chair around to face Admin Esteban "what is your question?"

"I was just wondering…why all the covert operations and espionage mang? We didn't do all that before, well before all this" Esteban said with his arms outstretched "Back in the trafficking days we wouldn't get info on the enemy when they interfered with business, we got the homies and the gats together and we blasted them out of town."

"What's your point?" Jonathan asked.

"My point jefe is that instead of all this bullshit planning; why not just take matters into our own hands. We have the troops, the money, and the idiot mareeple in blissful ignorance. You want to change Hoenn society by getting rid of those beasts, that's your plan right? Well we're not going to do that if we keep sneaking around like little rattatas."

"I understand what you are saying Esteban, but you don't get it. Back in the good old trafficking days we didn't need to put up a front, all we had to do is make money, and in that business you only make money by being ruthless. But we're not in that business anymore, that's all gone. That business was a jumping point to this business. In this business we aren't trying to make money because we already got it. This business is the business that's going to help make our plans for Hoenn come true. The only thing this business requires is we put up a front and keep the people happy and on our side. You think some big operation to wake those titans up isn't going to alert the public. Without them, we can't do anything. They won't buy our products, and authorities won't turn a blind eye to us anymore. Right now we need to plan and work the angles behind the scene. Besides, why risk everything when we got two groups of misguided idiots to do our dirty work for us, without them even knowing!"

"I guess you're right Jonathan"

"Don't worry though, when everything's in place, we'll strike and nobody will be able to stop us" Jonathan said with an evil grin.

"Hehehe, then we'll fuck shit up right?" Esteban asked rubbing his hands together happily.

"We sure will my friend, we sure will."

**Back to May and Brendan…**

_4:25 Route 109, Mr. Briney's Boat. Nearing Slateport City_

"Hey I can see Slateport Beach from here!" May exclaimed as Mr. Briney approached Slateport City.

After defeating the Dewford Town Gym and delivering Mr. Stone's letter, May and Brendan were now headed to Slateport City so May could deliver a package to a man named Captain Stern.

"Alright you kids, the ships docked you can head ashore" Mr. Briney yelled from the navigation quarters of the ship.

May and Brendan hopped off the boat and onto the sandy Slateport Beach.

"Thank you Mr. Briney, you've helped us greatly" May thanked.

"Yeah it's been a real pleasure travelling with you" Brendan added.

"Oh it's the least I could do to thank you for saving my darling Peeko" Mr. Briney replied smiling.

"Wingull!" Peeko cawed.

"I'll miss you too" May giggled.

"Well I'm gonna head back to my cottage. Good luck on your journey you two, and stay safe" and with that, Mr. Briney turned his boat around and headed to his cottage on Route 104.

"Well what's next?" Brendan asked May.

"Hmmmm" May pondered as she surveyed the area as she thought of what to do to find Captain Stern. The beach was occupied by many people. Families, kids, trainers, fishermen, the likes. It was difficult to look past them all. "Well I guess I need to find the Slateport Shipyard, but I can't see anything past all these people, let alone the shipyard."

"Well it's probably farther inland. C'mon let's get off this beach" Brendan said as the duo walked across the beach. Sure enough, once they got through the sea of people on the beach, they reached the urban part of the city. Slateport was like a mix of the cities May had seen (only smaller) and Dewford Town. There were some tall buildings, but the sprawl was mostly inhabited by small factories. On the coastal edges of the urban city were yards and yards of docks and fisheries. One big defining part of the city was its huge outdoor marketplace where it was claimed that there were _unique items found nowhere else! _Within the marketplace. Palm trees sprouted from the sidewalks and enclosed areas to add the seaside feel to the coastal community.

"This place is pretty nice" May said marveling at the sights.

"Sure is" Brendan agreed.

"I'm going to go find the shipyard; you want to come with me?" May asked.

"No I'm going to explore the city a little, how bout we meet back at the pokemon center when you're done" Brendan suggested.

"Sounds like a plan, see you later!" May said as she started down the street looking for the shipyard

"Good Luck May!"

May continued down the streets of the eastern part of the city until she reached a building near the ocean with boats docked around it that had a sign that read 'Slateport Shipyard' and entered.

The inside of the building was kind of dark and industrial looking. The sunlight barely came through the thick dirty windows, to May it looked like one of those places in a horror movie were the serial killer ambushes the naïve unsuspecting young girl.

"This place is giving me the creeps" she thought to herself as she searched for someone inside the building. Finally she found a man, illuminated only by a desk light on top of well…his desk. He was looking at blueprints with a frustrated face.

"So where does this part go….and this part?" he muttered to himself.

"Ummm hello, are you Captain Stern?" May asked.

"Wha-hey what are you doing here?! You're not supposed to be in here!" he yelled angrily.

"Hey take it easy, I've been sent here to deliver a package to Captain Stern."

"Oh…sorry about yelling at you, I'm just a little frustrated with these blueprints is all, and to answer your question, no I'm not Captain Stern, I'm his assistant."

"Oh well do you know where he is" May asked.

"No I'm not sure where he is, I suggest you look over at the Slateport Harbor" the man suggested.

"Can you tell me where the harbor is?" she asked.

"Oh yeah it's up north from here" the man replied.

"Oh okay, thank you" May thanked as she exited the shipyard.

"Alright I guess I should head north" May thought to herself as she started north. As she was walking, she noticed a line of Team Aqua members entering a building.

"Oh no, that can't be good" May thought as she started towards the building which turned out to be Slateport's Oceanic Museum, and entered.

"Hello young lady are you here to tour the museum?" a receptionist asked from behind a counter.

"Umm sure" May replied.

"Well you'll have to pay a fee of 50 pokedollars like the rest of these fine people."

"Okay" May said as she paid the fee and entered the atrium of the museum. All around the atrium were Team Aqua grunts looking at exhibits. May distanced herself from them and tried to overhear what they were saying. She was only able to hear bits and pieces of their conversations.

"I think he's up there, let's go."

May looked over toward the voices and saw two Team Aqua grunts head up a staircase leading up to another part of the museum. May decided to follow them.

The staircase lead to another exhibit area focusing on nautical history. Inside were the two Team Aqua grunts harassing a middle aged man, perhaps in his late thirties, wearing a lab coat.

"Alright Stern, where are the Devon goods, the boss needs it for his plans!" one grunt interrogated, while the other held Captain Stern by his arms.

"I don't know what you hoodlums are talking about, let me go this instant!" he protested.

"I would suggest cooperating before the boss gets here, then you'll be real sorry" said the other grunt.

"Let him go!" May yelled.

Both grunts turned toward her.

"Little girl, YOU need to turn around and leave, grownups are talking."

"This is something you don't want to get involved with!"

"Yeah, you two are real tough when you've got back up huh" May scoffed "cowards, you both should be ashamed."

"That's it; if you're not going to leave on your own then we'll have to show you out! Go Zubat!" yelled one of the grunts.

"Zubat!" cried a small bat pokemon with

"Go Poochyena!" yelled the other.

"Poochyena!" cried the dark type dog.

"Alright, you want a battle, then I'll give you two clowns a battle!" May yelled as she pulled two pokeballs from her belt "Go Combusken and Aron!"

"Combusken!" cried the fire type fowl.

"Aron!" cried May's newest steel and rock type pokemon.

"Zubat use Supersonic on Combusken!"

Zubat opened its mouth and released a high frequency sound wave.

"Com…bus…ken" muttered the fire and fighting type with swirly eye, as he swayed trying to keep his balance.

"Poochyena Tackle Aron now!"

Poochyena charged at Aron.

"Aron use Harden!"

Aron tightened its muscles.

BAM

Poochyena slammed into Aron, hurting itself more than the little steel type.

"Counter with Metal Claw!"

Wasting no time, Aron lunged at Poochyena with its shinning forelegs, and raked at the dark type with his metallic front legs.

"Pooch!" Poochena cried as is reeled back from the force of the attack.

"Zubat Supersonic now!"

Zubat released another high frequency wave, this time confusing Aron.

(May's Inner Thoughts) "Damn now both of my pokemon are confused!" (End of Inner Thoughts)

"Ha ha, now both of your pokemon are confused! You should give up now little girl, and save your pokemon from a beating.

May gritted her teeth "Not a chance, they'll pull through! Combusken use Ember on Zubat!"

Combusken still confused, managed to hurt itself.

The grunts burst out laughing.

"T-That wasn't supposed to happen" May said rather embarrassed.

"Zubat, Let's take out that stupid Combusken with Wing Attack" scoffed one of the grunts.

Zubat glided toward Combusken.

"Aron cover Combusken, use Headbutt on Zubat!"

Aron still confused, managed to lunge headfirst towards Zubat.

"Dodge Zubat!" Zubat evaded Aron's attack.

"Let's get Aron out of the picture, Poochyena use Bite!"

"Use Wing attack on Aron Zubat!"

Both Poochyena and Zubat approached Aron.

"Aron use Mud Slap on Poochyena so he can lose some accuracy!"

Aron did not listen. Being confused and seeing the two pokemon bearing down on him terrified the timid pokemon. Instead it used Harden, while the two pokemon attacked him.

"Oh no Aron!" May cried fearing for Aron "Combusken I really need you right now, please snap out of it!" May pleaded.

Combusken shook its head to snap itself out of confusion.

"That's the spirit Combusken, now use Ember on that Zubat!"

Combusken exhaled a swarm of fiery projectiles that hit Zubat with force, knocking the bat pokemon out.

"Oh no Zubat!" the grunt cried recalling his pokemon. "I'm out of the battle, it's all up to you now" he said to the other grunt.

"Don't worry, I won't lose to no little girl, Poochyena Tackle Combusken NOW!"

Poochyena charged at Combusken.

"Now Combusken, use Double Kick!"

WHAM

Combusken landed a kick right onto the oncoming Poochyena's snout.

WHAM

Another kick sent the little dark type skidding back to the Team Aqua grunt.

"Return Poochyena" the grunt said, recalling his pokemon.

"Good job guys, return" May said as she recalled her pokemon.

"I can't believe we lost to a kid…" said one of the grunts meekly.

"Yeah, the boss is gonna be pissed."

"I guess you're not going to be harassing anybody anytime soon huh"

One of the grunts opened his mouth to reply to May's comment, but was interrupted by a voice coming from the staircase.

"What's taking you two idiots so long!?"

Into the room came a tall thick man with a dark suit and a blue bandanna.

"I came to see what was taking so long to snatch parts, and you simps are held up by a mere child?"

"Hey, why does everybody keep calling me a child? I'm fifteen years old!" May said angrily.

The man ignored her, and turned toward the grunts "well what do you two morons have to say for yourselves?"

"She's no regular kid, she's like…like…"

"A really tough kid!" chimed in the other grunt.

Archie turned toward May. "We are Team Aqua, and we love the sea! And I am Team Aqua's leader, Archie!" he proclaimed.

"I didn't ask who you were, but okay"

"Don't act like a smart ass around me kid! Why are you interfering with our plans anyways? Are you part of Team Magma? No you can't be you're not dressed for the part, who are you?"

"To answer your first question, I interfered with your plans because these two assholes…" May pointed toward the two grunts "were harassing this man over here. And to answer your second question, my name is none of your god damn business!"

"Look kid, I know you mean well by trying to protect this man here, but we are doing all this for something greater than him, you, or anyone of us" Archie said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" May asked confused.

"People and life depend on the sea to prosper and grow, so we Team Aqua are dedicated to expanding the sea! What a noble objective that is don't you agree?" Archie proclaimed.

"Don't you think the sea is the way it is for a reason, it's called balance my friend, and if you start messing with the way things are already, then you're going to hurt the things you seek to advance" May replied.

"Oh you're still too young and naïve to understand. I'll tell you what, we'll leave for now, because I like your spirit kid, but if you ever try to interfere with us again, it will cost you dearly. Got it?"

May stuck her tongue at him.

"Such a childish thing to do" Archie remarked "alright everyone, let's evacuate the area!"

Just like that, Team Aqua left as quickly as they came.

"Well I'm glad that's over, thank you young lady, you saved us both back there" The man in the lab coat said.

"It was no problem, I wasn't going to let those weirdoes try and boss you around."

"I don't even know what they wanted…anyways, my name is Captain Stern" the man said holding out his hand.

"Oh Captain Stern" May said shaking his hand "I have a package for you from Mr. Stone."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah" May said as she reached into her fanny pack and pulled out Mr. Stone's package "here you go."

"Why thank you….I'm sorry I didn't catch your name"

"May" May replied.

"Why thank you May. You know, I think this is what those criminals were after."

"What is it?" May asked.

"Its blueprints for a submarine engine" Captain Stern replied.

"I wonder why they wanted them" May muttered.

"Who knows, I sincerely thank you May, you're one tough courier."

"So I've heard, well I'm glad I could help. Bye Captain Stern!"

"Bye May, and be careful around those Team Aqua folks, they aren't the crowd to be hanging around with."

May exited the museum and ran into a familiar face.

"Hello May, long time no see right" said a jolly Hawaiian shirt wearing man.

"Oh hey Scott, what have you been up to?" May asked.

"I was looking for other talented trainer, when I saw Team Aqua scrambling out of the museum. I assume you had something to do with that whole fiasco?" Scott asked.

"Yeah that was me" May replied.

"Ha ha, I knew it! It's a good thing I stumbled onto you on Route 104, you have to be one tough trainer to send Team Aqua running."

"Thanks" May said blushing.

"Well I'd better go, oh but before I do, I suggest you go try entering the Battle Tent on the north west part of the city." Scott suggested.

"Will do" May replied as Scott walked away. May started walking toward the pokemon center, and on the way called Mr. Stone to inform him that the tasks were completed.

"I'll have your pokemon healed right away!" Nurse Joy told May as she placed May's pokemon on a healing apparatus. May sat down on one of the benches in the pokemon center, just as Brendan swung through the door with a six pack of soda pops in his right hand.

"What a day, hello Nurse Joy, can you heal my pokemon for me?" he asked, not noticing May sitting on the bench.

"Sure I'll heal them right away!" Nurse Joy said as she placed his pokemon onto the healing machine.

"So what did you do?" May asked.

Brendan spun around "Oh hey May, I didn't know you were here already, did you deliver the package?"

"Yeah, Team Aqua made things difficult, but I handled it."

"Really Team Aqua!" Brendan said with concern in his voice "are you okay?" he asked taking a seat next to her.

"I'm fine" she assured him.

"Tell me what happened."

May recounted the events to him.

"Wow that's insane" Brendan said referring to Team Aqua's objectives.

"Yeah" May agreed.

"May you should be more careful next time, people like that are not people you want to get involved with" he scolded her.

"Don't worry Brendan I'll be fine, I can take care of myself. Why are you so worried about me?" she asked.

Brendan flustered a little "well…because we're friends, and I don't want to see you get yourself in trouble with those lunatics."

"Awww thanks Brendan that's really sweet" May smiled "okay, I'll promise to be more careful. Anyway, how was your day?"

"Amazing, right after you left I went back to the beach and found this place called the Seashore House. I won these soda pops after I beat all the trainers there!"

"Cool!" May replied smiling.

"Then I went to the market place and bought you…" Brendan reached into his backpack "this!" Brendan handed her a plush Torchic doll.

"Oh it's so cute!" May squealed, hugging the doll.

"I thought you would like it" Brendan said smiling.

"Oh thank you Brendan, Thank you!" May exclaimed hugging him.

"N-No problem" Brendan said blushing "what are friends for."

May released him from her embrace and placed the doll on her lap "I can't wait to show it to Combusken and see what he thinks of it."

"Yeah" Brendan said still red in the face. "I knew she would love it!" he thought to himself.

"Hey Brendan" May said breaking Brendan away from his thoughts "yeah?"

"Do you want to come with me to the Battle Tent?" she asked.

"Sure, but it's getting kind of late. I think we should rest up here for tonight, and head over there tomorrow."

"Yeah you're right" May replied looking out the window to see the orange glow of the setting sun bathing the coastal city.

The two trainers picked up their pokemon when they were fully healed, and went to their own guest rooms, and got ready for bed. May cuddled up with her new doll under the warm covers and fell asleep.

**Thanks for reading. Please review.**


	16. The Battle Tent

**Hello everyone! It took me awhile, but it's here chapter 15. I hope you enjoy (if you do enjoy can you please review, that's if you have the time of course).**

Chapter 15: The Battle Tent

May stood yet again in the field of meadows "Why do I keep having this dream?" she asked herself. She looked over at the horizon and saw the door. What was that door doing there? Why am I so drawn to it? She looked behind her, and of course there was the rock, calling to her to come back to it. She tried to shake off the rocks call and start heading toward the door, but she could not, her legs felt like lead.

"_Go to it May"_

Once again the voice came with the wind. The voice once again allowed her to move her legs and move closer toward the door, almost there…

_Ring, Ring_

May's eyes fluttered open. She sat upright on her bed, and let out a long yawn. "6:30" she mumbled sleepily as she turned off the alarm clock. She gave her Torchic doll a hug and placed it on her bed so she could go shower.

After she showered and brushed her teeth, she got dressed. Once she was ready she grabbed the Torchic doll and set it down next to her. She then pulled out one of her pokeballs.

"Come on out Combusken."

Out of the pokeball came May's fire and fighting type pokemon.

"Combusken!" it chirped ready for battle, but quickly eased itself when it realized he was not in a battle.

"Bus?" Combusken said confused as it turned toward May.

"No battles today Combusken, I sent you out to show you something."

"Combusken!" the fowl chirped excited.

"Look at this!" May said showing Combusken the Torchic plush.

Combusken eyes beamed as May showed him the doll. He closed his eyes and began to think about how just yesterday he was a little Torchic. He began to remember his first meeting with May on Route 101 and then to the battles he fought alongside her.

May sighed "just yesterday you were a Torchic and now you're a big strong Combusken, and you're only going to get bigger and stronger…" May gazed at Combusken remembering him as a little Torchic "soon you'll be a strong six feet tall Blaziken, and I won't be able to carry you in my arms like I use to when you were a Torchic…" May sighed again "I'm going to miss my little Torchic, not that I'm unhappy with your evolution, I'm glad you're growing, but it's just that I'm feeling a little nostalgic already and you just evolved yesterday. There's no going back…"

"Busken" Combusken chirped warmly as it wrapped its arms around May.

"Awww I love you too little vato" May said hugging him back. They hugged for about a minute until they released each other from their heartfelt embraces.

"You know, I think Brendan won't be awake for awhile, he's always sleeping in. How bout I release the rest of the gang so we can all hang out here for awhile?"

"Combusken!" the fowl pokemon exclaimed happily, liking the suggestion.

May released the rest of her pokemon.

"Beautifly!" May's butterfly pokemon cried as he fluttered onto May's head, making her giggle.

"Skit, Skit!" Skitty meowed as she jumped onto May's lap and nuzzled her.

"Aron…" Aron mumbled sadly turning its back to May and the rest of the pokemon.

"What's wrong Aron?" May asked. Aron was silent.

"Beaut!" Beautifly said angrily as he flew next to Aron and scolded him, thinking Aron was being rude.

"Beautifly calm down, I don't think he's trying to be rude" May said softly as she took Skitty off her lap and placed her on the bed, then walked over toward Aron.

She knelt down to look him in the eye. "What's wrong" she asked softly with wide comforting eyes.

"Aron…" it mumbled. May could tell he was feeling shame just by looking at his eyes. May remembered yesterday's battle when Poochyena and Zubat attacked Aron. Aron was scared and did not listen to May during the attack.

"I think I know what's wrong; you're feeling ashamed over the battle yesterday huh." Aron nodded as if to say yes.

May sat next to him "Aron don't feel bad, it's not your fault you choked. You're a timid pokemon and you get scared. You can't help it, so why feel bad? It's no reason to be ashamed" she said as she petted his cold metallic head. "Hell in the beginning of the match you fought well."

Aron still looked sad.

"Aron let me tell you something."

Aron listened intently.

"Did you know I actually use to be scared of pokemon?"

Aron's eyes were wide in disbelief.

"Yup, if I was in a room with all you pokemon like right now, I probably would've started freaking out."

Aron giggled a little.

"But I faced my fear and now I'm not scared…well that's not entirely true, I still get scared of pokemon sometimes. I don't think that fear will ever fully leave, but it's kept at bay because I know I have this pendant my mom gave me…" May took her pendant off her neck and showed it to Aron. "She said as long as I have this, I'll have the courage of the pokemon in the carving. This pendant acts as my safety net, if I ever get scared, I can always look at this and remember what ma told me."

Aron continued to listen

"You know what Aron, I think you need a safety net, you know, something you can turn to."

"Aron" Aron agreed

"We'll be your safety nets, me, Combusken, Skitty, Beautifly, all of us. Whenever you get scared, you'll have us to turn to!" she proclaimed.

"Aron!" the little steel type said happily as it jumped onto May's lap and cuddled up against her.

"I love you too Aron" May said with a pained face, as she patted the happy pokemon on its head "but you're kind of heavy."

Aron jumped off May's lap and giggled.

"Well I'm glad you're feeling better" May said smiling as she stood up. "I think Brendan may be up already, so it's time to go back into the pokeballs…" May recalled all her pokemon back into their pokeballs, and placed the pokeballs onto her belt. Then she exited her room and went towards Brendan's room, and knocked on his door.

"Brendan are you awake?" she called out.

"Yeah I just got out of the shower, hold on let me get dressed" came his voice from the other side of the door.

"Oh okay, I'll just wait at the lounge" May said as she walked toward one of the sofas in the lounge and sat down.

**5 Minutes Later…**

"Morning May" Brendan said as he walked into the lounge.

"Oh hey Brendan!" May said joyfully as she got up from the sofa "ready to head to the Battle Tent?"

"Sure, let's head out" Brendan answered as he followed May out of the pokemon center.

The duo started toward the northwest side of the town. They took a detour through the Slateport Marketplace, passing through the sea of shoppers, and stalls selling various items. It took every ounce of her self control to stop herself from shopping. They soon reached a giant red and blue tent with other trainers crowding around it, prepping their pokemon for battle.

"This must be it" May said looking at the giant tent.

"Looks more like a circus" Brendan observed.

May started toward the entrance with Brendan following close behind, trying to keep May's behind covered from the prying eyes of some of the male trainers.

A cool breeze from the Battle Tent's air conditioning blew onto both trainers' faces, a nice change from the hot sun outside. They walked up to the registration counter.

"Hello ma'am, I was wondering if you could sign me and my friend Brendan up for the Battle Tent's double battles."

"Sure" the lady from behind the counter said "I just need your ID cards."

"Uh okay…" May said nervously as she handed the lady her ID card. Brendan did the same.

"Okay…May Maple Mendoza and Brendan Birch…you two will be partners in the 8:00 match, good luck!" the lady said handing back the trainers' ID cards.

"T-Thanks" May said as she and Brendan found a place to sit.

"I didn't know you had two last names" Brendan commented.

"Y-Yeah, it's my mom's last name" May chuckled, a little embarrassed.

"Why haven't you told me before, are you embarrassed of it or something?" he asked.

"N-No, it just never came up" she replied.

"You shouldn't be embarrassed May, it's your name, you should be proud of it" he said.

"I am, I am, it's just that I'm not use to people saying my full name. It's always been May, or May Maple. I've rarely been referred to as May Maple Mendoza."

"I think it's a nice name, in fact I think I might call you that from now on…Mendoza!" Brendan said with a sly smile.

"Oh no" May muttered "this is why I don't tell anyone my full name."

"It's settled; from now on I shall call you Mendoza!" Brendan said playfully.

"Oh shut up" May chuckled, slapping his arm lightly.

"You know what the funniest part is" Brendan started.

"What?"

"They'll probably say your name through the loud speakers" Brendan chuckled. "And on my right side of the battlefield, the handsome Brendan Birch with his attractive but hot headed friend May Maple…Mendoza!" he proclaimed with the best announcer voice he could muster out.

May started to laugh "I am not hot-headed!"

"Are so"

"Are not"

"Someone's in denial"

"I could say the same thing" May shot back with a sly smile.

"What do you mean?" Brendan asked.

"You know what I'm talking about" May said mischievously.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about" he replied.

"Oh yes you do, your crush…"

"Wha-What do you mean?" Brendan said defensively.

"The mystery girl from Route 102, who is she?" May asked.

"Why do you keep insisting I have a crush?" Brendan said blushing fiercely.

"Well for starters you're as red as a tomato. You also get real defensive when I mention it" she replied.

"Y-You, H-How…." "May Maple Mendoza and Brendan Birch, your battle is about to commence. Please make your way to the battlefield" the loudspeakers interrupted.

"That's us" May said standing up "c'mon let's go."

"Why do you keep saying I have a crush on somebody, I-I don't!" he protested.

"Brendan you're going to give yourself a heart-attack, besides now is not the time, we are about to battle" May replied grabbing Brendan by the hand, causing him to blush even more, and lead him to the battlefield.

"Hold on" said a man before they could walk onto the battlefield.

"Yeah what's wrong?" May asked.

"You two must both choose one pokemon to battle with."

"Oh okay…" May said as she pondered on who she would send out "I know! I'll choose this one!" she proclaimed taking a pokeball from her belt.

"And I'll choose Zigzagoon" Brendan said taking out one of his pokeballs.

"Alright you two may pass" the man said allowing the two trainers to step onto the dirt battlefield. They were immediately greeted by a cheering crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen get ready for the second battle of the day!" came a voice from the loudspeakers that boomed throughout the tent, louder than the crowd. "This match will be a team 2 on 2 battle. On the blue side of the field are two trainers from Littleroot Town. Give it up for Brendan Birch and May Maple Mendoza!" the crowd cheered. "And on the red colored side, Roger Smith from Mauville City and Morgan Lionel from LaRousse City!" the crowd cheered once more. "Trainers send out your pokemon!"

"Alright let's do this!" Morgan exclaimed "go Numel!"

Out of the pokeball came a four legged pokemon mostly light yellow in coloring, with a hump on its back with green coloring on it, the hump resembled a volcano.

"Numel!" it cried.

"Go Cacnea!" Roger yelled.

Out of Roger's pokeball came a small cactus like pokemon with a yellow crown like growth on its head.

"Cacnea!" the grass type cactus cried.

"Let's go Zigzagoon!" Brendan cried releasing his normal type raccoon.

"Zagoon!" it cried.

"Okay let's show everyone what we can do, go Aron!" May cried releasing her steel and rock type.

"Aron!" the little pokemon cried.

(May's Inner Thoughts) "Alright Aron, let's see what you can do" (End of Inner Thoughts)

"Alright let's start this off with Leech Seed Cacnea!"

Cacnea released a swarm of seeds at Zigzagoon.

"Dodge and use Sand Attack Zigzagoon!"

"Zagoon!" the normal type yelled using its hind legs to throw dirt onto Cacnea's eyes, effectively lowering its accuracy.

"Numel use Tackle on Zigzagoon!" Morgan yelled.

Numel charged at Zigzagoon.

"Cover Zigzagoon with Mud Slap!" May cried.

Aron used its head to sweep mud at Numel.

"Numel!" the fire and ground type pokemon cried as it cringed in pain from the super-effective attack.

"Nice, now both of their pokemon have lowered accuracy!" Brendan proclaimed.

"Numel, show em what we think of accuracy, use Magnitude!" Morgan yelled.

Numel slammed its front legs onto the ground, creating a fairly strong tremor.

"Oh no, quick Aron use Harden to brace for the impact!"

Aron tightened its muscles as the tremor struck both him, Cacnea, and Zigzagoon (dealing super-effective damage to Aron).

"Aron…" the little pokemon muttered in pain from the impact.

"Use Tackle on Aron" Morgan yelled to Numel.

Numel began its charge.

"Zigzagoon, Protect Aron by tackling Numel!" Brendan instructed.

Zigzagoon charged at Numel.

"Cacnea cover Numel with Pin Missile!"

Cacnea shot a swarm of sharp pins right at Zigzagoon

"Zagoon!" the normal type cried in pain as thr needles pierced him.

Then another swarm came, and another. A total of three swarms of pins struck Zigzagoon, halting his charge.

Numel continued his charge.

"Use Headbutt!"

The hurt Aron charged at Numel headfirst.

Both pokemon collided. The collision sounded like car crash.

"Num….el" the fire type muttered as it toppled over knocked out.

"Numel is unable to battle" the loudspeakers proclaimed.

"We can do this Cacnea, use Needle Arm on Aron!"

Cacnea sprinted towards the badly hurt Aron, ready to pummel it with its needle ridden fist.

"Zigzagoon, use Growl to try and lower Cacnea's attack!"

BAM

It was too late, Cacnea landed its fist onto the already badly damaged Aron.

"Oh no!" May cried.

"Can this be it for Aron?" the loudspeakers boomed.

"Ar…." The little steel type muttered as it struggled back onto its feet.

"Amazing, Aron survived the attack!" the loudspeakers yelled, the crowd cheered.

"Bu-but how?" Roger stammered in disbelief

"Great job Aron!" May cheered "now use Metal Claw!"

Aron slashed at Cacnea with his metallic forelegs.

"Cacnea!" the cactus pokemon cried, cringing in pain.

"Use one last Tackle Zigzagoon!"

"Zagoon!" the raccoon pokemon cried as it bolted toward Cacnea.

BAM

Cacnea was sent skidding back to its trainer knocked out.

"The winners of this match are May Maple Mendoza and Brendan Birch from Littleroot Town!" the loudspeakers proclaimed as the crowd went wild.

"Good job Zigzagoon!" Brendan praised as his pokemon jumped into his arms, and licked his face.

"Aron that was amazing!" May proclaimed as she ran up to her victorious pokemon and petted it "not feeling so ashamed now aren't you?"

"Aron!" the little pokemon replied happily.

Roger and Morgan recalled their pokemon.

"That was a spectacular match!" Morgan said.

"Yeah, you two are really good" Roger added.

"Thank you, you two were really tough" May praised as she and Brendan recalled their pokemon.

The four trainers exited the battlefield and back into the Battle Tent's lobby.

" We did great out their didn't we Brendan!" May exclaimed.

"Yeah, we sure did!" Brendan agreed.

"Yeah you two sure did" came a voice from behind.

May and Brendan turned around to see the trainers they had just battled.

"You two were really great out there" Morgan said.

"Yeah, especially you cutie" Roger said winking at May

"Oh my…" May said blushing slightly "T-thank you."

"Yeah thanks" Brendan replied smiling.

"We just wanted to shake both of your hands." Morgan said.

The four trainers exchanged handshakes.

Well I must be going, bye" Morgan said as he waved goodbye.

"Yeah goodbye" Roger said as he too exited the Battle Tent.

"Nice guys huh" Brendan said smiling.

"Yeah" may replied blushing slightly.

"So do you want to sign up for another battle?" Brendan asked.

"No, I just wanted to try it out. Let's start heading to Mauville" she said.

"Okay" Brendan agreed as he followed May out of the Battle Tent and toward the pokemon center to heal their pokemon. Once their pokemon were healed, they headed down Route 110.

As they went down Route110, they reached a fork in the road. One path continued down Route 110, the other went down Route 103.

"Look Brendan, Route 103! We can go visit our parents, c'mon let's go!" May said excited.

Brendan grabbed her shoulder.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"Route 103 is divided by a stretch of water, so you won't be able to go back to Littleroot from their" he informed her.

"Oh, in that case let's keep heading to Mauville City."

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this again, but I kind of want to stay here on this side of Route 103 to document some of the pokemon here" Brendan said.

"Oh…" May muttered a little disappointed "well I guess I'll keep heading to Mauville."

"Don't worry May, I'll catch up to you, I promise."

"Okay, good luck on Route 103" May said with a somewhat sad look on her face.

"Thanks, good luck with your gym match" Brendan said as he headed down Route 103.

May watched him walk away and sighed. "There you go again" she muttered as she continued down Route 110.

**Looks like May is on her own again. What is in store for her in Mauville, and what will happen to Brendan on Route 103? We will soon find out! Thank you for reading, and if you have the time please review!**


End file.
